


My TWDG October Challenge Prompt Responses

by TheCrusaderKing



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Bad Luck, Black Cat - Freeform, Blood, Bonfires, Campfires, Candles, Candy, Chapter 23: Warning for Squeamish Readers, Childhood Memories, Chocolate, Cold Weather, Cookies, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Cute Kids, Deception, F/F, F/M, Face Punching, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fire, Fireplaces, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Ghosts, Halloween Costumes, Haunted Houses, Humor, Kidnapping, Kissing, Lack of Proper Fire Safety, Near Death Experiences, Pie, S'mores, Sick Character, Sickfic, Spooky, Sunsets, Supernatural Elements, TWDG October Challenge, Ugly Sweaters, lot's of blood, prank, prank gone wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:42:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 26,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26740825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCrusaderKing/pseuds/TheCrusaderKing
Summary: Stories made for the TWDG October Challenge. Will include a variety of stories, characters, relationships, and themes. Tags will be added as new chapters are released.
Relationships: AJ | Alvin Jr. & Clementine (Walking Dead), Brody/Clementine (Walking Dead: Done Running), Clementine & Kenny (Walking Dead), Clementine & Lee Everett, Clementine/Louis (Walking Dead: Done Running), Clementine/Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 68





	1. October 1st: Falling Leaves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Clementine trudges through the forest, she finds herself beset by an old memory...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go with the first of the TWDG October Challenge Prompts! I plan to do all 31 of these, one a day until the end of the month. There'll be a variety of characters and relationships as we go through, so hopefully there'll be something for everyone!

It was…  _ beautiful _

Despite how hungry she was, despite her fear and her concern for the future, despite  _ everything…  _ Clementine couldn’t deny what she saw all around her.

The forest had been intended as a quick shortcut, a way of bypassing the small town she had come across, absolutely teeming with walkers. Despite her desperate need for supplies, Clementine knew she would’ve surely died had she attempted to scavenge there, especially when AJ had been so fussy lately, scaring off potential dinners with his crying and alerting walkers to their position.

Clementine didn’t blame him for his tears. They were both starving, and there were times when even she felt like crying at the weight of the responsibility on her shoulders. Still, she held strong. She couldn’t afford to break down now, not when AJ needed her.

And so they found themselves circumventing the town entirely, hiking through the surrounding woods in the hope that they’d have better luck at the next town down the road. It wasn’t the best plan in the world, but it was all they had at the moment.

Still, as Clementine trudged through the forest, AJ nestled snugly in a makeshift sling on her back, searching for a path through the trees and the brush as she sought to cover as much ground as possible before the night fell and they had to find shelter, Clementine founding herself paying more attention, not just to keep an eye out for walkers or bandits, but to take in the scenery as well...

At first, her thoughts were regulated to mere annoyance at the way the wet leaves littering the ground made her nearly lose her footing a couple of times, almost falling flat on her face as AJ laughed with glee at the sudden movement.

As her march continued though, Clementine began to study the leaves more carefully, taking in the warm colors that seemed to blanket everything around her. The entire forest floor was carpeted in vibrant reds and soft oranges, combining with the rays of sunshine breaking through the branches of the trees to create the illusion that the entire forest was simply  _ glowing. _

Gradually, she started to slow down. She didn’t stop completely, well aware that time was of the essence, but she couldn’t help but simply take in the gorgeous sights around her, a rare opportunity these days.

Before her very eyes, Clementine watched as leaves fell from their trees, fluttering in the air, wherever the wind deigned to carry them. She couldn’t help but compare their situation to her own, hopelessly adrift from all she had known, and forced to wander wherever the circumstances happened to take her.

She followed one leaf in particular as it spun above her, jerking and twisting as the winds took it in different directions. It was a light-orange shade, almost yellow in coloring. Just as it seemed it would be carried away into the distance, it suddenly changed direction, shooting towards her as though it had a mind of its own.

Strangely paralyzed, Clementine came to a halt as the leaf fluttered to the ground at her feet, gently resting atop it’s many cousins as it joined the piles all around it.

Frowning slightly as she felt the tingle of some long buried memory in the back of her mind, too old to properly remember, Clementine knelt down to pick up the leaf, holding it gingerly between her fingers as she studied it carefully. AJ made curious noises behind her at their sudden stop, but she ignored him.

Suddenly, as though a dam had broken loose in her brain, a memory came surging to the forefront of her mind, shocking Clementine with it’s vividness…

_ A 7-year-old Clementine giggled happily as she threw leaves into the air, letting them shower down onto her while her dad watched on, leaning on his rake with a big smile on his face.  _

_ Technically, her mother had sent them out to clean up the yard, wanting them out of the house while she prepared some special treats for them all, but they were certainly taking their time. It had started off innocently enough, with Clementine jumping into the pile of leaves they had gathered with her father’s permission, but it had quickly spiraled out of control, any progress they had made completely lost as the leaves were scattered anew. _

_ Looking around, Clementine struggled to gather up enough leaves for another go, only to freeze in surprise as a shadow suddenly loomed over her. She looked up just in time to have a pile of leaves dropped directly on her head, and she shrieked in delight as her dad stood over her. _

_ Spitting a leaf out of her mouth, Clementine observed her father as he knelt down to her level, all while leaves continued to rain down from where they’d been caught in her hair. _

_ He had a warm smile on his face, the skin around his eyes crinkling ever so slightly as he seemed to take notice of something. “Hey!” He said, reaching out to pluck a leaf from her hair. “This one matches your eyes.” He held it out to her for inspection. _

_ Clementine observed the leaf critically. It was a very light orangish-red color, almost yellow. She didn’t really see the likeness. “No it doesn’t!” She protested, still giggly. _

_ He tilted his head, a goofy grin on his face. “You sure? Looks pretty close to me!” _

_ She shook her head. “Nope!” _

_ Her father just laughed at that, reaching out to ruffle her hair with his large hand, dislodging the last few leaves stuck up there. “Well, it is very pretty nonetheless. Do you want to keep it?” _

_ He held it out for her, and Clementine pretended to give it some thought, pursing her lips ever so slightly, only to reach out and grab it with a smile. It was silly, when there were so many leaves all around them, but somehow it felt special to receive one from her dad like this. “Thank you!” She said belatedly, just managing to remember her manners before he could chide her. _

_ She tucked it in her dress pocket reverently, already planning a place for it in her room. She lunged forward to hug her dad, before turning to search for more leaves to throw into the air. _

_ Before she could get very far though, her mother’s voice called out from the kitchen window. _

_ “I can see you two out there! You’d better get to work if either of you want to taste these cookies I’ve got in the oven!” _

_ Clementine gasped in dismay at the threat, and turned back to her father, who had a deadly serious look on his face. “Well, looks like we’d better get working.” He said solemnly, only to break into a smile as he grabbed his rake and did exactly that. _

_ Nodding quickly, Clementine started gathering as many leaves as she could, though not for playing this time. There was no time to play when cookies were on the line! _

_ As she worked, she felt the leaf crinkle gently in her pocket, and Clementine smiled as she watched her father go into overdrive, raking like a man possessed. They’d get through this together, and then they’d go inside for their just reward. Today was shaping up to be absolutely perfect… _

Gasping, Clementine was pulled from the memory as AJ tugged at her hair, giggling at her reaction. Reaching a hand back, Clementine disentangled those tiny fingers from her curls, as her other hand held the leaf tightly, almost crushing it in her grip.

Her breathing was quick and shuddering, and as she blinked, she felt moisture in her eyes, a solitary tear making its way down her cheek as she held back the rest of them.

For a brief moment, Clementine stared at the leaf clutched in her hand, feeling a strange urge to tuck it into her pocket...

Soon though, the moment passed, and she suddenly felt like she was going to be sick. She dropped the leaf as though it had burned her, a sudden burst of energy filling her as she started moving again, no longer concerned with anything but getting out of this forest as soon as possible.

It wasn’t enough to stop more tears from forming however, and she rubbed her eyes with her sleeve as she moved, not slowing down for even a moment.  _ ‘Keep moving forward… just keep moving forward…’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to much, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	2. October 2nd: Carving Pumpkins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis has a surprise for Clementine when he gets back from trading with a friendly settlement...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, second prompt! Admittedly I wasn't super inspired with this one, but I'd like to give a big thanks to [Atomicrobin3?](https://atomicrobin3.tumblr.com/) for giving me the idea for this one! Never would've gotten it done as fast without him, and I never would've come up with such a great idea!

To say Clementine had been worried would have been an understatement.

When Aasim had pulled her aside, asking to speak to her in the headmaster’s office, she’d immediately assumed the worst. Clementine was supposed to be supervising Louis and Omar’s haul from their latest trade with a nearby friendly settlement. Willy had seen them on the horizon, and Clementine had been getting ready to head outside when Aasim had grabbed her attention.

Aasim wasn’t the sort of person to worry over nothing, and so Clementine had taken him seriously, leading the way to the office to hear what he had to say, all the while wondering how bad it could be that he didn’t want to talk about it in front of the others. 

_ ‘Was there a herd on the way? Had rats gotten into the food?’  _

These were the thoughts running through her head as she settled into the former headmaster’s chair, secretly glad to be able to take some weight off of her prosthetic leg. She knew Willy meant well, and it was better than the crutches, but it was far from a perfect replacement for her lost limb.

As he opened his mouth though, Clementine slowly found her concern shifting into annoyance, and then frustration as he rambled on. All of his complaints were minor at best, from asking about her leg, to whining about Willy being rude to him.

The worst thing about it was that whenever it seemed like he was finally finished, he’d suddenly remember some other insignificant grievance that she apparently  _ needed  _ to hear about. It simply dragged on and on, while Clementine did her best to answer his questions and not lose her temper. At some points, even he seemed confused by some of the things he was supposedly worried about, raising Clementine’s suspicion as she started to wonder what this was truly about...

Just as she was about to snap and demand to know what was really going on here, Louis burst through the door with an easy grin. “Hey guys! Just letting you know that everything is unpacked!” He revealed jovially, as Clementine realized  _ just how much time _ she had wasted here.

Before she could respond and apologize for getting caught up, or more likely tear into Aasim for distracting her from her task, Aasim’s expression suddenly shifted from nervousness into pure  _ relief, _ and he rushed for the door, stopping just long enough to whisper angrily to Louis before fleeing the room.

Louis wasn’t focused on his strange behaviour though, instead watching Clementine with a look that she had come to identify as his  _ I have a ridiculous plan  _ look. “Wow, he’s acting really weird.” Louis said with a suspicious laugh, and Clementine raised an eyebrow.  _ “Soooo.”  _ He continued. “Any chance you could come with me down to the cafeteria?  _ I’ve got a surprise for you!” _

As frustrated as she was, Clementine couldn’t help but smile at his cheer, and she followed him, forgetting her previous annoyance for the moment as she wondered what could possibly be in the  _ cafeteria,  _ a building they had rarely ever used?

She got her answer as they reached the decrepit old building, a slight autumn chill filling her frame as they opened the old wooden double-doors. Clementine stopped dead in her tracks as she entered the room.

_ “What… is this?”  _ Clementine questioned, utterly baffled by what she saw before her.

Pumpkins. There were pumpkins strewn across the old cafeteria tables, at least 20 that Clementine counted at a glance.

“It’s pumpkins!” Answered Louis, who had apparently never heard of such a thing as a rhetorical question.

“Well…  _ yeah… but why?”  _ They definitely weren’t growing pumpkins at the school, and she  _ certainly  _ hadn’t put pumpkins on the list of supplies Louis and Omar were to trade for…

“Apparently, they had a really good crop this year, and they figured they’d give some out to their allies to share the  _ halloween spirit.”  _ Louis explained with a grin, wiggling his fingers in the air at those last words. “See Clem? Sometimes it  _ pays  _ to make friends!”

“Well, okay…” Clementine nodded slowly, slightly suspicious that anyone would just give out food, but grateful for the extra supplies nonetheless. “More food is always good I guess…”

Louis looked distinctly affronted at that.  _ “Oh no no no no no dear Clem…  _ these pumpkins aren’t for  _ eating… they…  _ are for  _ carving!”  _ he threw his arms wide as he finished, gesturing around the room, as though trying to encompass all the pumpkins within his grasp.

Clementine stared at him. “What?”

_ “You know! _ Carving Pumpkins! Haven’t you ever done that before? Making scary faces to decorate your porch or whatever?”

“I mean,  _ of course _ I’ve done it before…”

“Well I haven’t! My dad was a dick, remember?” Louis clasped his hands together, almost getting down on his knees.  _ “Please Clem? It’ll be fun! I’ll be your best friend!” _

“You’re already my boyfriend…” Clementine pointed out, slightly bemused at his antics, but still unsure about wasting a potential food source like that, especially with winter on the way… “Listen… I know you-”

“What’re you doing?” A soft voice interrupted from behind them, nearly making her jump as they turned to see AJ in the doorway, confusion in his expression as he watched the both of them.

Before Clementine could explain, Louis was speaking up. “We’re carving pumpkins little man!”

Clementine shot him a glare, but as she turned back to AJ, it was clearly too late. The boy had a curious look on his face as he finally noticed the pumpkins behind them, eyes widening in restrained wonder at a new thing he had never seen before. “Ca-can I do it too?” He asked.

Her first thought was to deny it, to say that they needed these pumpkins for eating, but one look between the hopeful/curious gazes of the boys she loved more than any other, and her heart absolutely melted. “Fine.” She grumbled, lips softening into a smile as AJ rushed over to touch and examine the pumpkins, and Louis gave her a big hug, lifting her small frame into the air as he rambled about how  _ she was the best girlfriend ever! _

And that was how she found herself teaching her boyfriend and her adopted son how to carve pumpkins, using an old but hopefully clean knife they’d found in the kitchen, along with a spoon.

Clementine made the first cut, laughing as Louis fake-gagged at the guts and seeds while she scooped them out, placing them carefully in a bowl in the hope that Omar could do something with it all later. No point in letting all of it go to waste after all, and if anyone could make something delicious out of it, it was Omar. Along the way, she tried to explain to AJ that they were making decorations. He was rather confused by the idea of wasting food like that, but he seemed interested in trying.

As she worked, AJ asked if it was okay to taste the guts, and when she nodded, he hesitantly picked some up with his fingers, lips twisting nervously at the texture. He placed it in his mouth, only to immediately gag as both she and Louis laughed. Clementine was going to miss this when AJ finally realized he couldn’t trust her about what to lick/taste.

Finally, the pumpkin was ready for carving, and Louis, ever the gentleman, offered to let AJ go first.

“What should I make?” AJ frowned at the pumpkin, studying it in his normal way whenever he encountered something new.

“Well, most people like to make faces.” Clementine explained. “You could make a happy face, or a sad face, but most people like to make a scary face, since it’s normally for…” She trailed off, realizing that AJ wouldn’t know what halloween was.

He didn’t seem to notice though, deep in thought as he stared at the oversized vegetable. “Hmm… I like being happy, so I want the pumpkin to be happy too.” He said finally, a bit more serious than the situation probably warranted.

She smiled. “That sounds like a very nice idea.” She told him sincerely. “Do you want to do it yourself, or did you-”

“I can do it!” He said quickly, as independent as ever. 

Shaking her head amusedly, Clementine held out the knife by the blade, offering it to him. As he took it from her, she suddenly had a thought about when she had done this with her parents. No way would they have ever let her use the knife all by herself like this at her age, and AJ was even younger than that.

For a moment, Clementine felt guilty, upset that she hadn’t been able to give AJ the safe childhood he deserved. That only lasted a moment though, as she rationalized that he had done much more dangerous things than this, and that like it or not, things weren’t like how they’d used to be. She wished things could be different, but she had done the best she could for AJ, and at the very least, she could give him this experience…

_ ‘Speaking of people who’ve missed out on crucial childhood experiences…’  _ Clementine turned to Louis as AJ got to work, a content smile on his face as he watched them. She felt her face heat up at that. “You want me to do one for you too?” She offered, hoping her embarrassment wasn’t obvious.

“Oh, sure! I’ll go get another knife!” With that, Louis bounded off for the kitchen, and Clementine chuckled at his enthusiasm. Clearly he was more eager for this experience than she had even thought.

She was soon distracted as she had to help AJ when his knife got stuck in the flesh of the pumpkin. Before long Louis was back, and she gutted that pumpkin as well, allowing him to get to work with that one as she supervised their efforts

Along the way she only intervened a few times, mostly happy to let them have free reign with their creations. Most of her offers of help were rejected anyway, both Louis and AJ apparently convinced that they could handle it completely on their own.

At the end, their pumpkins stood side by side on one of the tables, as Clementine stood judging them. AJ’s had a roughly carved, crooked grin, jagged at one end where his knife had slipped. The eyes had basically been stabbed into the flesh, rather than cut, and there was a thin slice in between the eyes and the mouth to represent a nose. AJ stood by his creation, grinning proudly as he watched for her reaction.

“Very good!” Clementine cooed, proud of him for doing so well on his first attempt. Louis on the other hand…

Well, it was definitely  _ carved.  _ That was clear at least. The eyes had been made so large that the orange flesh between them nearly caved in, the nose was like a gaping wound in the center of its face, and it carried a deep frown that looked more like someone had carved out the entire lower half of its face. At least AJ had  _ tried  _ to be somewhat precise and methodical in his work, focusing carefully on what he was doing. Louis on the other hand had started off practically stabbing away at the pumpkin, and it had taken quite a bit of advice to convince him to slow down.

“What do you think?” Louis questioned, an easy smile on his face as he awaited her response, trying and failing to twirl his knife as it clattered to the ground.

Clementine put on an exaggerated grin. “It’s…  _ a really interesting design choice.”  _ She offered, not sure what else to say.

He just smirked at that, giving a theatrical bow. “I know you’re lying to make me feel better, but thank you for trying to spare my poor, precious feelings.” His smile robbed the words of any bite, and she rolled her eyes at his antics.

“What about you Clem?”

The words came as a surprise, and Clementine turned to AJ, already thinking of how many things she had to get tonight before the sun fell…

“I’m…  _ really  _ sorry goofball. There’s some things I need to do.” She frowned at his look of disappointment.  _ “But…  _ we can always do more tomorrow! We can even have some of the others try it themselves. I’m sure everyone will love to have the school all decorated!”

AJ grinned at that, and Clementine mentally patted herself on the back for her save. Louis chose that moment to speak up. “Hey little buddy! Why don’t we go show everyone our awesome pumpkins! I’m sure Ruby will love mine! I modelled it on her after all!”

AJ nodded excitedly, already grabbing his pumpkin and running out the door. As Louis grabbed his own, he stopped next to Clementine. “Hey, Clem… I just wanted to say thanks for doing this. I… it just means a lot to me…” His smile was nervous, as though Clementine was going to call it stupid after having already gone through with it.

She just smiled up at him. “It’s fine. I… enjoyed it. Even if it  _ was _ a bit of a waste.”

Louis gasped at that. “Why, Clementine! Don’t you know? Having fun is  _ never  _ a waste!”

She snorted at that, but before she let him go after AJ, one last thought popped into her mind. “So… Louis. You wouldn’t happen to know why Aasim was acting so weird. It was  _ almost _ like someone  _ told him _ to keep me distracted…” She fixed him with a piercing gaze, letting him know that there was no squirming out of this one.

He chuckled nervously. “I…  _ may or may not  _ have convinced him to keep you distracted while I got the pumpkins set up in here. What can I say? He owed me a favor for taking his watch so he could hang out with Ruby!”

Before Clementine could even respond to that, he was running out the door with an  _ “Okay see you later!” _

She huffed as the door swung wildly in his passing, crossing her arms as she started to mentally plan out how she was going to  _ murder  _ Louis and Aasim for wasting her time like that…

_ ‘Just you guys wait… I’ll teach you both a lesson!’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	3. October 3rd: Fluffy Scarves and Cozy Sweaters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Modern AU: Clementine and Violet try on sweaters for an upcoming party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt number three! My shortest one so far, but I'm pretty happy with this. Some violentine after last chapter's clouis. As always, I hope you enjoy!

“This looks _awful.”_

At that moment, Violet was standing in front of a full-length mirror in her girlfriend Clementine’s room. On the bed was a massive pile of sweaters, scarves, and other winter accessories that Clementine’s adopted father Lee had pulled out of the attic. Her words were directed towards the sweater she was currently modelling for her audience of one, a truly atrocious piece of clothing in her opinion, all shaggy and mud brown. She looked more like some wild mountain goat than a teenage girl.

How she had managed to get herself wrapped up in this, she really had no idea. Perhaps it had something to do with her girlfriend’s eager smile and clear enthusiasm when she had revealed that her dad had found a whole bunch of old clothes for them to try on. Violet had never been able to resist that smile before, and this was no different.

And so she found herself here, wishing dearly that she could just learn to tell Clementine _no_ for once.

“You look great!”

That was Clementine, always with a compliment or a grin to brighten Violet’s day. She had her moods like anyone else, but Clementine always seemed to be able to make her feel better. Not this time though. Violet wasn’t having it.

“I look like some… _russian mountain man_ about to go out and… _wrestle a bear or something_ , I don’t know!” No one had ever accused violet of being good at analogies.

Clementine just sighed, wrapping an arm around Violet’s shoulder with an indulgent smile as they stared into the mirror together. “I mean, _sure_ it’s not high fashion or anything, but you make it work! Trust me, you could wear a garbage bag and you’d still be the most beautiful girl in the world to me!”

Violet just shook her head, trying and failing to hide her growing blush. “I know _you_ think that. It’s _everyone else_ I’m worried about. There’s _no way_ I’m wearing this in public, and definitely not to Louis’s party tonight. That’s a pretty quick way to say _goodbye_ to my social life.”

“You _know_ our friends don’t care about that.” Clementine mumbled against her shoulder.

Before Violet could respond, the younger girl was pulling away, a sudden look of concentration on her face as she skipped over to the bed, where she began digging through the massive pile of clothing, on the hunt for something.

Not a minute later, she gave a triumphant squeal as she pulled something from the bunch, turning back to Violet with a grin. Before the blonde couldn’t even ask or get a look at what it was, Clementine was wrapping the article around her neck, almost strangling Violet as she pulled it tightly. Finally, she leaned back, staring at Violet with admiring eyes as she surveyed her work.

Slightly nervous, Violet tried to bend her neck to see what Clementine had done, only to remember a moment later that there was a mirror right next to her. Cheeks heating slightly in embarrassment, she turned to said mirror, and was stunned by what she saw.

“Uh, Clem…” Violet began, not sure what to say. “If you were trying to make things better, it… _didn’t work.”_

The new addition was a white yarn scarf, covered in simple green pine trees. The white looked to be eggshell, or possibly spoiled milk, while the pine trees were a sickly brownish green that would’ve looked more at home on some sort of military uniform than on a winter scarf. Alone, it might’ve been passable, but it combined with the sweater to create a truly _horrible_ outfit that made Violet look like she’d just crawled out of a junkyard.

Clementine frowned at that, putting her hand on her chin in an exaggerated thinking expression. Like flicking a switch, that frown was suddenly exchanged for a mischievous grin…

“You know Vi, if you’re still not into it, I think I saw a _beanie_ in the pile that might pull the outfit together-”

_“No.”_ Violet said seriously, putting her foot down. “I love you Clem, but I draw the line at dressing the same as _Gabe.”_ No offense to him (well, maybe some, seeing that he’d once had a crush on Violet’s girlfriend), but Gabe had exactly _zero_ fashion sense.

Violet’s girlfriend pouted at that, but seemed to concede the point. She tilted her head as she looked over the blonde, hands on her hips. “At least tell me that it’s comfy!”

The older girl tried moving her arms for a moment, feeling how the warm material stretched over her body. At the same time, she fingered the scarf around her neck, feeling how soft and giving it was. “It _is_ pretty comfortable.” She admitted, earning a bright smile from Clementine. “But I am _not_ wearing this to the party.” The smile dimmed.

Finally, Clementine gave up. _“Fiiiine.”_ She groaned. “But you’re not leaving this room until we both find something to wear! Lee was _so_ excited when he found this stuff, and I’m _not_ ruining that!”

Violet shook her head in annoyance, but she couldn’t hide her smile as she moved over to the pile. _“Okay, okay.”_ She chuckled. “You try something next. I want to see how some of this stuff looks on you.” She hadn’t intended to be suggestive, but the blonde saw how her girlfriend blushed at those words, and she smirked. “Wouldn’t want to disappoint your dad after all.”

The shorter girl huffed at that, but quickly started pawing through the loose clothing, still eager to see what she could find. 

The older girl watched Clementine work, unable to stop herself from smiling at her younger girlfriend’s enthusiasm as she brought up a sweater against her front to estimate the fit, and she quickly joined in. Clementine might not want to disappoint her dad, but Violet had her own loved one she wanted to keep happy...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	4. October 4th: Ghost Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenny tells a spooky story one evening at the motor inn, and Clementine gets a scare!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt number 4, here we go! It took me awhile to come up with this one, but once I got it, I was pretty excited. I wanted to get this done for midnight, so it's not nearly as polished as I would like. Honestly, I might come back and redo this as its own oneshot at some point.

One october evening, as the sun was hanging low over the horizon to signify the coming of night, the survivors of the motor inn were sharing stories.

Well, some of them were at any rate. Larry had long since gone to bed, while Katjaa had also retired to her room for the night to do some reading. Lily was technically present, but she was more concerned with keeping watch for signs of danger from her vantage point atop the RV Kenny had been trying to get running.

That left Kenny and his son Duck, Carley, their resident sharpshooter, Mark, their most recent recruit, having been rescued from an overrun airfield, and finally, Lee Everett, along with the 8-year-old girl he had taken under his wing, Clementine. They were arranged in a rough circle in the shade of the RV, sitting on a collection of chairs and couches they had pulled from several of the inn’s rooms.

At first, the stories told were fairly mundane, focusing on their lives before the dead had started walking. It wasn’t long though before someone started to complain about their chosen subject matter...

As Kenny finished an old fishing tale, Mark let out a deep sigh. “Y’know, all this talk about how things used to be is getting me seriously depressed.”

“It might not be the best thing to talk about considering the circumstances.” Carley agreed.

Kenny raised an eyebrow at that. “Well if my stories are  _ that  _ boring to ya’, you could’ve just said something.” He said humorously. “What else can we even talk about? _ ‘Hey Mark, how many walkers did you kill yesterday?’  _ Not exactly a lot to discuss about these days. At least, not anything the kids should be hearing about.”

_ “Ooh, ooh!  _ I know!” Duck spoke up suddenly, waving his arms to get everyone’s attention. “Why don’t we tell ghost stories! We used to do that at school for halloween!”

“Hmm, a bit early for halloween, but… I think I know a story like that if everyone’s up for it.” Kenny nodded slowly, gaining enthusiasm as he spoke. “Of course, that’s assumin’ no one wants to leave. Wouldn’t want to give anyone  _ nightmares.” _

Carley scoffed. “I think I can handle a tall-tale about a  _ floating bed sheet.  _ I’ve covered murders before.”

Mark made a noise of agreement, and Lee nodded once, smiling to show his acceptance. Duck was the one who requested it, so that just left one person…

Clementine bit her lip, not quite liking where this was going. “You alright sweetpea?” Lee asked her. “You can always head off to bed if you don’t want to be around for this. It’s probably close to your bedtime anyway.”

Her shoulders hunched slightly at that. She didn’t want people to think she was a baby…

“I’m okay.” Clementine answered softly. “I want to stay…”

“You sure little lady?” Kenny questioned in an understanding tone. “Wouldn’t want you getting scared or nothin’”

Now  _ that  _ pricked at Clementine’s pride. She sat up straight, forcing her face into a mask of confidence.  _ “I want to stay.”  _ She repeated, voice stronger this time.

He chuckled at that. “Alright then, don’t say I didn’t warn you…”

Kenny launched into his story, which was honestly pretty boring at first. He spent a lot of time setting up the events without getting to any of the juicy bits, and several people started to yawn as he droned on. Eventually though, he got to what  _ really  _ mattered…

“And so, there she was, laying in bed in the old fishing cabin. The storm was raging, wind and rain battering against the windows as she tried to rest, still waiting for her friend to return. Finally, she heard knocking on the door, and she jumped up, worried that he’d gotten locked out.”

He looked around, as if trying to garner their reactions. Carley and Lee seemed completely fine so far, while Duck was listening with rapt intention. Mark was actually looking a little nervous at this point, hands clutching the edge of his seat in an unconscious gesture, almost holding his breath as he waited for the older man to continue. For her part, Clementine was completely frozen, almost shivering in her seat as her heart beat rapidly. Lee placed a hand on her shoulder, and she settled slightly, still far from calm.

“The knocking got louder, and  _ louder  _ as she approached the door, hurrying to let her friend inside. The moment she touched the handle though, the noise stopped cold… slowly, she turned that handle, strangely finding that the lock had seemingly been broken for years. Finally, she pushed the door open, eager to embrace her friend…  _ but he wasn’t there. No one was there at all.” _

By now Clementine was regretting every choice that had led her to this moment, wishing she had just gone to bed, but it was too late now. She was already terrified, and asking to leave now would just make her look like a wimp. She clenched her teeth and leaned into Lee’s touch, trying to derive as much comfort from it as possible.

“The girl was confused and scared, sure that she’d heard  _ someone  _ knocking on the door, but there was no explanation to be seen. Heart in her throat, she decided to return to bed, but as she moved to shut the door,  _ she saw it.  _ Two muddy footprints on the deck,  _ right _ where someone would be if they were knocking. Just two bootprints, seemingly unaffected by the rain pouring down on them…”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Lily interrupted from the roof of the RV. Clementine practically jumped in her seat at the sudden noise, just barely choking back a strangled yelp. “It’s gonna be a long day tomorrow, and the last thing I need is all of you being completely useless. Carley, it’s your turn for watch.”

With that, Lily climbed down from the RV, marching off to her room without a single look back, clearly expecting that her orders would be followed.

Their storyteller sighed in aggravation. “Well, the taskmaster has spoken. Guess we better get some sleep in.”

“Aww.” Duck whined. “I wanna know how the story ends!”

“Maybe tomorrow night Duck…”

Slowly, the gathering broke up, as Clementine remained seated, trying not to dwell on what she’d just heard. Lee stood up next to her. “You ready for bed Clem?” The girl just nodded, not trusting herself to speak as she jumped up from the chair and slowly walked over to their room. 

Lee watched her go, frowning as he sensed that something was wrong, but not quite knowing what to do about it...

* * *

A short while later, Clementine was tucked into her bed in her and Lee’s shared room, still ruminating over Kenny’s earlier story. The candles had all been blown out, and Lee was in his own bed, resting for the time when he would be called for his own turn at night watch.

Clementine dreaded the thought of him leaving, unable to keep from peeking over at the door, expecting at any moment the sound of loud knocking, signifying that whatever had come for that girl at the cabin was now here for her.

The worst part was that she didn’t even know how the story ended. Would the girl be fine? Or would she disappear like her friend? What would happen to Clementine if the ghost was real?

An unknown amount of time passed, as Clementine failed to get any sleep, too nervous that the knocking would come any second to risk closing her eyes for long. Finally, she simply wasn’t able to take it any more! She had to tell  _ someone _ about her worry, and there was only one person she trusted to tell…

“Lee…” She whispered. “Leeee” She tried again, drawing out his name.

Her guardian stirred under his sheets, grunting slightly as he turned to face her. “What’s wrong sweetpea?” He was clearly tired, but his voice was soft, and full of compassion.

“I… I can’t sleep.”

Lee sat up, a knowing look on his face. “Because of the story Kenny told?”

Clementine nodded. “I know it’s stupid, but I’m worried that ghost will come  _ here.  _ I don’t want to disappear like that girl’s friend.”

With a sigh, Lee stood up from his bed, walking the short distance to sit by Clementine’s side, placing an arm on her shoulder as she looked up at him, squinting through the darkness to see the kind look in his eye. “Oh Clem… That was just a story. Kenny made it all up right then and there. I promise you that there’s no ghost.” He smiled. “And even if there was, there’s no way they’d want to hurt someone as sweet as you.”

The girl couldn’t help but smile back, grateful for his reassurance. “You promise?” She whispered softly.

“I  _ promise.” _

For a few moments, they remained like that, Lee rubbing circles into Clementine’s back as she revelled in the comfort he provided.

Just as he stood up from her bed, a hard knock echoed through the room, and Clementine nearly jumped out of her skin as she yelped, staring up at her guardian with wide, fearful eyes.

He chuckled at her reaction. “Don’t worry Clementine, it’s just Carley coming to let me know it’s my turn to keep watch.” He made his way to the door, the flimsy wood shaking at the continual raps against it. “I’m coming, I’m coming! No need to be like that.” He chuckled again as he opened the door. “Y’know, you nearly scared Clementine half to dea-”

Nothing. There was no one there. As Clementine squeaked in fear behind him, Lee looked out into the night, seeing Carley still sitting atop the RV, apparently oblivious to the loud noise that had just been made. Noticing something out of the corner of his eye, he looked down to see the unmistakable mud outline of two bootprints, perfectly aligned in front of the door.

Needless to say, Clementine didn’t get any sleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	5. October 5th: Walk in the Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU where Lee survived Savannah, Omid survived the pit stop, and Christa successfully had her baby
> 
> Clementine marches through the woods with her group, and Lee offers her comfort from the cold and her fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt number 5! This one is mostly just wish fulfillment, what with Lee and Omid being alive and all that. What can I say? As much as I enjoy writing angst, I do want them to be happy in the end! Hope you enjoy the chapter, short as it is.

The wind was rustling through the trees, shaking gnarled branches, still covered in orange and red leaves, destined to carpet the ground in the coming weeks. A chill ran through the air as Clementine walked underneath those tangled limbs, making her shiver ever so slightly as she stepped over exposed roots and crushed grass underneath her feet.

“You alright Sweetpea?”

That was her guardian, Lee. The man who had taken care of her ever since the dead had started coming back to life, keeping her safe from all that would threaten to hurt her. It had been a year since he had opened die in fulfillment of that task, but instead he had survived, still caring for her after all this time.

She raised her head to blink at him owlishly, realizing that she had fallen behind the group. Ahead of them were Christa and Omid, a couple they had met on their way to the city of Savannah, where everything had changed for them. Snuggled in Christa’s arms was their child, Genevieve. It had been a tense time when the girl had been born, but they’d made it this far, and now she was growing nicely, though it would be a long time yet before she was able to take care of herself.

Evidently, Lee had noticed that Clementine had started to trail behind, and, being the good guardian he was, had pulled back to check on her.

She smiled up at him, hoping he couldn’t see how the cold affected her. “I’m fine.” She spoke softly. “But I think I need something warmer to wear…” Clementine had once had a nice coat that Christa found in a burnt-out old store, but she’d outgrown it, and it had been rendered almost unusable anyway when they’d had to cover themselves in walker guts to avoid a herd while scavenging for supplies.

Lee nodded, and she could already see the gears turning in his head. “It _is_ getting to be that time of the year. We’d better start looking soon, or you’ll be feeling a lot colder than you are now, especially now that we’re moving north.”

“We should find a town or something.” Christa called from ahead, looking back at them. “Gen here could use some winter clothes as well, so we should look for someplace with a clothing store. Might be some walkers to deal with, but it beats freezing to death. Probably worth the risk.”

“That sound alright with you Clem?” He questioned, and she nodded up at him, grateful that she’d hopefully be feeling warmer soon.

They walked in silence for the next few minutes, until Lee noticed Clementine taking in their surroundings. “What are you thinking?” He asked warmly, smiling at how she jumped ever so slightly at being pulled from her observation.

Clementine frowned as she looked around a moment more, before looking back up at him. “It’s spooky.” She murmured.

Listening to the wind howling through the branches, Lee couldn’t help but agree with her. It reminded him of when he was a kid, when his brother would dare him to go deep into the woods on Halloween, in search of some cabin all their friends had insisted was haunted. They’d never sound the supposed cabin, but walking through that forest in the middle of the night was more than enough to give them nightmares.

Still, no point in worrying Clementine any more than she was. “You’ve dealt with walkers before, I’m sure you could handle anything this ol’ place could throw at us.”

She smiled at his words, back straightening as she steeled her courage. “I know... it’s just a little creepy, that’s all. I’m not scared.”

Lee smiled back. “That’s my girl!” He said approvingly.

“Well, I’m glad you guys are feeling so good about it.” Omid spoke up suddenly. “This place reminds me of a horror movie I watched once.”

Christa chuckled as she adjusted Genevieve in her arms. “You were _such_ a wimp over that!” She turned back to Lee and Clementine. “He couldn’t handle being alone for almost a week after that one. We didn’t even live near the woods. We were in the city.”

_“Hey!_ You can never be too careful!” He cried defensively, and everyone had a nice chuckle at his expense.

They continued on for a while, as Clementine took in everything around her. Once you got over the creepy branches that looked like gnarled hands, and the howling breeze like moaning walkers in the distance, and the way that… okay, nevermind, she was freaking herself out again.

Still, all she had to do was look up at her guardian walking next to her, and she knew that he would never let anything happen to her. She smiled, grateful that he had found her all that time ago.

He took notice of her staring, and he smiled back. “What’s going on now?” 

Clementine just kept smiling. “Nothing. Everything is fine… I’m just glad that you’re here.”

Lee reached over with his hand, and she took it in hers. “I’m glad to be here too Clementine, especially with you by my side.”

Hand in hand, they continued on, grateful to have one another in this dangerous world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	6. October 6th: Chilly Mornings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation to the last chapter. Having finally found a safe place to stay for the moment, Lee helps Clementine cope with the cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 6 is a go! This one is extremely rushed, since I spent a lot of time today on a test. I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless, and hopefully I'll be able to manage my time better next time to avoid situations like this.

Clementine sat anxiously in the living room of the house she and her group were currently occupying, having just cleared it. As good as it felt to have somewhere they could be safe for tonight, she couldn’t deny the chill in her bones.

They were farther north than Clementine had ever been in her short life, and it showed in the cold winds that seemed to cut right through her. This house may have been safe, but it clearly wasn’t very well insulated. She eyed the fireplace across from her, wishing she had a lighter of her own to get a fire started. Unfortunately, such things were with Lee and the others, and they were busy checking the house for supplies. Nothing she could do for the moment but wait until they were done.

At that moment, Lee walked through the door, a bundle carried under his arm as he approached. “Hey Clem.” He greeted her warmly. “You doing okay?”

She nodded, unable to hide her trembling as she wiggled back and forth on the couch, doing her best to generate any kind of heat. “I’m… I’m fine… just, _really cold.”_

To her surprise, he only smiled at that, and brought the mysterious bundle out from where he was carrying it, unfurling it so she could see clearly that it was a green and yellow coat, one around her size at that! “I found this in one of the closets. I know the colors might not be your favorite, but I just thought, _anything_ has to be better than-”

Before he could finish, she was grabbing the article out of his hands, hands working shakingly at the zipper as she struggled to pull it around herself. He was right about her not liking the colors, but anything was better than freezing at this point. “Thanks.” She smiled weakly but gratefully up at him. She was still cold, but not nearly as much as she had been a minute ago.

Lee smiled back at her, a smile which quickly morphed into a frown as he saw that she was still shivering. With a hum, he turned to the fireplace, which luckily had a smile pile of firewood sitting next to it from whoever had lived here previously.

Kneeling down next to it, he started stacking logs carefully. “Let’s see if we can warm this place up a bit.”

A short while later, with the help of a lighter and a bit of paper he found on a nearby table, they had a small but steadily growing fire. 

Clementine inhaled deeply, detecting the faint scent of wood smoke as the fire burned brighter and brighter. She smiled as warmth began to permeate the air, chasing away the chill that had troubled her for so long. Her smile grew as Lee sat down on the couch next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders so she could warm up even faster.

Before long, she was feeling nice and toasty, almost forgetting all their worries for a moment as she sighed from the pleasant heat. “Thanks.” She murmured, feeling slightly sleepy now that the cold was dealt with.

“You should get some rest. You’ve been walking a while.”

Clementine yawned as she leaned against him, fighting her drowsiness as she blinked lazily. “What about the others?”

“They’re getting some rooms ready upstairs. I’ll take you up once it’s all set up.”

“I can… I can walk.” She protested, finding her eyelids growing heavier and heavier despite her attempts to keep them open.

Lee chuckled at that. “We’ll see.”

Before she surrendered to the sweet embrace of sleep, she couldn’t help but say one last thing. “Tha… thank you. For looking after me.”

As she finally gave in, Clementine faintly heard her guardian's voice as he responded. “You know I’d do anything for you Sweetpea...”

And with a smile on her face, Clementine fell into a warm, blissful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	7. October 7th: Apple Pie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a long day of work, Lee returns to his Richmond apartment with a surprise for his adopted daughter...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was very excited about this one. Once the idea popped into my head, it just all fell into place, and so it's one of my longer pieces for the challenge. Despite that, I haven't done any check-work on this one, as it's almost midnight, so expected some errors here and there. Despite that, I hope you'll enjoy reading this one, as I certainly enjoyed writing it!

Lee strolled down the hall to his apartment, eager to show his kids the prize he was holding carefully in his arms.

It had been a long day of helping to lead Richmond alongside his friend Javier and their fellow council members, but now he could finally rest, at least for a moment. Clementine should’ve been done with school by now, and she would’ve picked up AJ from a woman named Margaret who had taken it upon herself to watch after neighborhood small children while their caretakers were away.

He couldn’t help but shake his head as he thought about it. Years ago in Savannah, Lee had promised Clementine that they’d set up a classroom where she could be a student again, but he hadn’t truly believed it at the time. And yet, here they were.

Clementine had been struggling a little, he knew that much. It was hard adjusting to such normalcy after years of just trying to survive, and it didn’t help that few of the other children had really been through the sorts of experience they’d been forced to endure. Still, Lee wasn’t too worried about it. She was a bright kid, brighter than some adults, and he knew she’d get used to it eventually. It would just take some time…

Still, what Lee had with him was sure to brighten her mood. He had been quite surprised to see it, and even more surprised when Javier had told him to take one. Lee had resisted just a little bit, not wanting to seem selfish, but deep down he knew it would make Clementine’s day, and so he’d accepted.

As he opened the door to their apartment, Lee was unsurprised to see Clementine sitting at the kitchen table. It was a relatively small apartment, but it served their little family quite nicely, with a kitchen/dining room, a living room, a bathroom, and three bedrooms, though AJ usually slept with either him or Clementine these days.

She looked up from her homework, smiling brightly as she saw him. He wanted to believe she was just glad to see him, but he knew it was more likely she was just grateful for an opportunity to put off her homework for a moment.  _ That,  _ of all things, hadn’t been a welcome return to normalcy on her end, but, all things considered, she was as diligent about it as any budding teenager could be expected to be.

“AJ’s napping.” She offered by way of greeting, eyes immediately darting to the package in his hands. “What’s that?” Curiosity glinted in her eyes.

“Playing with the other kids tired him out then?” He responded, not quite getting around to answering her question. He kicked his shoes off, and slipped out of his coat, hanging it on the rack next to Clementine’s own jacket.

She wasn’t amused by his evasiveness. “What is that?” Clementine asked again, not bothering to answer his own mostly-rhetorical question.

He smiled as he placed it in the center of the table, making sure the paper packaging was ready to be removed quickly for his grand reveal. As it settled, a familiar smell began to waft through the room, and his adopted daughters eyes widened every so slightly in suspicion. “Is that…?”

Without further ado, Lee pulled the packaging away. It was a pie! Apple pie, to be exact. It looked like something straight out of a magazine or commercial, definitely not something he would’ve ever expected to see again even a year ago. If someone had told him back at the motor inn that he’d be getting to eat a freshly-baked apple pie, he would’ve thought they were dangerously optimistic.

If Clementine’s eyes had gone wide before, now he couldn’t help but be reminded of an owl. She stared at it for a moment, blinking rapidly as though it were an illusion.

After a long moment of silence, she looked back up at Lee.  _ “Are you serious?!”  _ Her voice was strangled, like she had something caught in her throat. “I mean, this… this is…  _ where did you get this?” _

Lee chuckled at her reaction, already moving around the table to retrieve a knife from the kitchen. As he grabbed one from a drawer, he explained himself. “Apparently Javier and some of the others thought it would boost morale. He knew apple was your favorite, so he kept it from me. I guess he didn’t want to spoil the surprise.”

She nodded at that, eyes drawn back to the pie in front of her, and he hurried back over before she could start digging out a slice with her bare hands. “I’m…  _ definitely surprised.”  _

Now  _ that  _ was an understatement if Lee had ever heard one.

With deft hands, he spun the pie tin around, working with his knife to cut out two,  _ thin,  _ slices. No need to eat it all at once, thought Clementine would probably disagree. Using the knife as a spatula, he dug one of the slices out from the tin, presenting it to Clementine with a steady hand.

For a moment, Lee feared that she would cut herself in her haste, but she was surprisingly careful as she gingerly removed the slice from the blade. Evidently, even her clear excitement wasn’t enough to extinguish her hard-taught caution.

Lee refrained from grabbing his own slice for the moment, wanting to see her reaction first. He wasn’t disappointed.

Slowly, as though she was afraid it would disappear on her, Clementine raised the slice to her mouth, taking a small bite as she chewed carefully. Her jawed worked steadily for a few seconds, until she finally swallowed the bite. 

Lee waited…

Clementine blinked. In a second, half the slice was gone, vanishing into her stomach. A few moments later, the rest of it followed. A grin grew on her face, joyful and carefree in a way Lee had seldom seen in years. Without hesitation, he offered up the second slice, and she took that one too. 

Before she could chow down on as well, her sense seemed to return to her. “Aren’t you gonna have some?” Her gaze was darting between him and the sticky slice of pie held between her fingers, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Don’t worry Sweetpea. I don’t plan on sitting this out.” He smirked. “Just make sure you leave some for AJ. I don’t want him to miss out on this. How is it?” He asked, already knowing the answer from her reaction alone. “Did you even taste it?”

“I totally did!” She insisted, clearly offended by the insinuation. “It’s really good!” Crumbs flew out of her mouth as it was once again full with pie. “I can’t believe I’m eating  _ apple pie  _ right now!”

“Well, I guess that’s the benefit of a place like this.” Lee cut his own slice, savoring the taste as he took a small bite.

Clementine rolled her eyes, but kept eating. Of the two of them, she’d been the most skeptical about joining a community, after so long of it just being them and AJ against the world.

“Whatever… thanks for getting this!”

“Don’t thank me, thank the ones who made it. Huh… I never did actually ask  _ who  _ made these. I’ll make sure to talk to Javier about it. I’d definitely like to give my compliments to the chef.” He chuckled.

They ate in silence for a few moments, until Lee remembered a question he’d been wanting to ask…

“Clem… are you happy here?”

She stopped chewing abruptly, watching him as she swallowed. She was silent for about a minute, clearly thinking carefully about her answer. “I… don’t  _ dislike  _ it. I mean, school is annoying, but I do have  _ some  _ friends, Like Gabe and Mari...sometimes I worry about whether this place will last though…”

Lee nodded understandingly. “I think we all worry about that Sweetpea. It’s perfectly natural to worry about the future, especially with the way things are now.” He gave her a pointed look. “Are you  _ happy  _ here though?”

There was another long moment of silence, until Clementine finally broke it, mouth slowly lifting into a smile, still dusted with pie crumbs. “I think… as long I have you and AJ… that I can be happy here…” Her lips curled into a smirk. “And, I mean, if this place has  _ apple pies,  _ then I think I could handle staying here.”

He smiled back at her, shaking his head fondly. “Oh,  _ of course.” _

They both laughed at that, and for a moment, they were just a regular family, on a regular October evening...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	8. October 8th: Burning Candles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Late one night, Clementine has a close call that teaches her an important lesson about fire safety

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This little story was actually somewhat inspired by the candles we see in the cabin in season 2. I couldn't help but think at the time that it seemed like a fire hazard to just have them sitting bare like that, and so I put those feelings into this prompt! As always, I hope you'll enjoy this little drabble!

Clementine shifted lazily in her bed, an unconscious frown crossing her lips as a faint scent drifted through the air, slowly rousing her from her sleep.

Eventually, her eyes blinked open, and she forced herself to sit up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she struggled to determine the source of that smell. As she pulled her arm away, Clementine looked to the side, immediately finding the source in a small collection of candles sitting on the bedside table.

_ ‘Uuuugh. I must’ve forgotten to blow out the candles before I crawled into bed. I was just so tired from working all day…’ _

Shaking her head, Clementine found that she couldn’t force herself to get out of bed, body still sore from the previous days later. It was clearly late at night by this point, and she could make out AJ curled up on his bed, easily detectable by the faint glow of the candles. 

They were scattered all about the room, providing light and some small amount of warmth to the room. Aside from the table next to her, there were also candles stationed on the desk where AJ liked to draw, and some were on the shelf where Clementine kept various knicknacks she’d collected over time. It might’ve been a waste to use so many, but they’d recently lucked into a large stash on a scavenging run, and they couldn’t help but go a bit overboard, especially with the nights getting colder and colder as winter approached.

Sighing, Clementine decided to leave them be. She really didn’t feel like getting out of bed, and honestly, the scent was rather comforting to her. It made the place smell like a home, instead of just an decrepit old dormitory.

Letting her head fall back onto the pillow, Clementine was just about to drift back into sleep when the smell sharpened suddenly, making her couch slightly at the smoky taste painting the back of her throat. Sitting up quickly, she did a quick scan, gasping under her breath as she saw that one of the candles on the desk had fallen over, starting a slow but building fire on the edge of the desk.

Suddenly forgetting her sore muscles and tiredness, Clementine lunged out of the bed with a strangled yelp, in full panic mode, almost falling flat on her face as she pulled her blankets with her., she grabbed her heavy jacket from where it hung off the end of the bed, and flailed it at the fire, desperately trying to smother it.

She knocked all the candles off the desk, but luckily it was enough to put out the fire, and Clementine stood there for a moment, breathing rapidly from the surprise excitement.

She sighed under her breath.  _ ‘Serves me right for getting lazy, I guess.’ _

The damage to the desk was minimal, thankfully. Just a faint blackening of one edge that AJ would no doubt question in the morning. She wasn’t looking forward to  _ that  _ embarrassing explanation.

“...Clem?” Clementine winced at AJ’s soft voice, and she turned to see his head turned to her, still pressed against his pillow. He seemed to still be half-asleep. “What’s going on?”

Clementine put on a faux-cheerful voice as she realized just how close they’d come to disaster. “Nothing goofball. I just made a silly little mistake. I’m just blowing out the candles.”

Evidently AJ was too sleepy to really question that any further, as he simply nodded and rolled over, squirming into the blankets. Clementine gave a sigh of relief, glad that she wouldn’t need to have that conversation  _ quite _ yet.

And so, filled with embarrassment and adrenaline at her close call, Clementine quickly blew out the candles, and crawled back into her bed, taking in the now dark room as she pulled the blankets over her. 

As she drifted off into sleep, Clementine had one last thought about her unfortunate incident...

_ ‘Note to self. Never, ever get into bed without putting out the candles.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	9. October 9th: Black Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Clementine waits for the man who will bring her to her parents, she has a rather unnerving encounter...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This can be considered a lowkey-sequel to the "Ghost Stories" prompt. It probably won't be the last one in this little impromptu series. As always, I hope you'll enjoy this little story, short as it is!

Clementine stood at the curb, fidgeting anxiously as she waited for the man who would bring her to her parents.

A part of her felt bad about not telling Lee where she was, but she pushed it down. Lee wanted to leave without even looking for her parents, and the man on the walkie talkie had promised to bring her to them. She couldn’t leave without finding them. Clementine just hoped her guardian would understand once he had the opportunity to meet her parents. She couldn’t help but wonder how they would feel about the man who’d been looking after her, but she hoped they’d get along.

The walkie talkie she’d used to communicate with the strange man was clutched tightly in her hand, just in case the man had any more updates before he arrived. She didn’t want to miss a single thing when her parents were so close.

As Clementine waited, she made sure to keep a look out for walkers. She couldn’t see any at the moment, but she’d learned from previous experiences that they could appear at any second, like at the train station with Lee, or when they were trying to reach the docks. Still, the area seemed clear for now…

As her gaze swept back and forth, Clementine noticed a flash of movement around the corner of the wall that surrounded the house, and she flinched, taking a step back as she kept her eyes glued to the spot, awaiting whatever lurked behind it...

To her surprise, what emerged was not a walker, but a _cat!_ It’s coat was a pure, inky black, and it had vivid, yellow eyes that Clementine couldn’t help but compare to her own. It walked with seemingly no fear of any walker, strutting around the corner like it was the master of all it surveyed. As she observed the creature, Clementine couldn’t help but notice how _clean_ it was, not looking at all like a cat that had been living wild for the past few months...

Suddenly, without warning, it’s head snapped up to look at her, and it came to a stop, observing her with a strangely _intelligent_ gaze that made a shiver run up her spine despite herself. 

There was something distinctly unnerving about those eyes, something she couldn’t put into words. Clementine expected it to run away, but instead, it started walking _towards_ her, not taking its eyes off her for a second. She could only stare back helplessly as it approached, almost in a _prowling_ stance as it’s tail swung back and forth rhythmically.

Clementine frowned, remembering something she had heard Kenny mention once, back at the motor inn. Black cats were supposed to be bad luck, and that was the last thing she needed when she was so close to reuniting with her parents...

She tensed up as it drew close, an unnatural, unexplainable fear gripping her like a cold wind ripping through her body, and she felt an urge to back away from the creature.

Just as it was a few paces from her, a sudden noise was heard that made the cat stop in its tracks. It was the sound of a car engine!

_‘The man said he’d be coming in a car!’_ Clementine thought to herself. _‘That must be him!’_

The spell of fear broken, Clementine glanced down again just in time to see the cat darting away into a nearby alley, not a single sound to mark its passing. The cat no longer interested her anyway, as a car appeared around the corner, coming to a stop as she shook with excitement.

With a _click,_ the driver’s side door opened, and a pale, thin man in a brown jacket stepped out, gazing over at her with a smile. Without a word, he raised his hand, revealing a matching walkie talkie to the one she was holding. It was him!

Clementine smiled back as he started walking towards her, completely forgetting about her strange encounter as he approached. As he drew near though, something tingled at the back of her mind, something about the car he was driving…

Within the next few minutes, Clementine was kidnapped by the strange man, dropping her walkie talkie to be found by her guardian, Lee. By the end of the day, both her kidnapper and Lee were dead, the rest of her group was gone, she'd seen her parents as walkers, and Clementine was all on her own, covered in stinking walker guts, with only a pistol to keep her safe.

Perhaps Kenny had been right about black cats...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	10. October 10th: Witch's Hat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While staying at a house for a few weeks with Kenny and AJ, Clementine makes an exciting discovery in the attic!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was very rushed, but considering how uninspired I was going into it, I think I managed to do pretty well. It's short like the last few have been, but I hope you'll find some enjoyment in it nonetheless!

Kenny blinked lazily as he laid back on a couch, happy for a chance to relax in the house he, Clementine, and AJ had been staying in for the last few days.

It was honestly a miracle they’d found this place, with enough food and water to last them several weeks. Not only that, but it was isolated too, so walkers weren’t too much of a concern either. There was always a chance that bandits or hostile survivors could stumble upon them, but Kenny would never let anything happen to the kids under his protection. He’d do whatever it took to keep them safe.

Speaking of those kids…

Kenny turned his head, smiling as he saw little AJ playing with some toy blocks they’d found while scavenging. The kid would stack them on top of each other, only to knock them down with a squeal of delight at the clatter they made on the hardwood floor. Kenny had no idea how the kid hadn’t gotten bored with it yet, but he wasn’t going to complain if it kept him occupied, and in one place. He had enough trouble with Clementine darting all over the place, him trying hard to keep up and keep her out of trouble.

Frowning, he realized that the girl in question was nowhere to be seen. Ever since they’d been turned away from Wellington, the girl had slowly begun to act like a child again now that survival wasn’t a constant concern. On one hand, Kenny was happy to see her so happy and cheerful, almost like how she’d been at the motor inn all those years ago. On the other hand, it certainly made it harder to keep track of her. He was getting too old to be running around like that anymore.

_ ‘Ah well, she’s probably somewhere around here, exploring or…” _

Before he could finish the thought, a cry rang out from upstairs.  _ “Kenny!” _

Immediately Kenny was on his feet, pistol in one hand as he scooped up AJ in the other arm. His thoughts were racing as he rushed up the stairs.  _ Was Clementine hurt?! Did she see people coming up?!  _ Her voice called out for him again, and he zeroed in on the stairs to the attic, unfolded.  _ ‘She must be up there!’ _

“I’m coming Clem!” He called back, ignoring the creaking of the steps as he ascended quickly.

Slightly out of breath, Kenny came up into the attic, partially lit up by sunlight peeking through a window at the far side of the room. His eyes swept frantically over the space, taking in boxes piled on boxes and old furniture as he searched for Clementine.

As he stepped forwards across the room, not seeing her  _ anywhere,  _ he suddenly heard her voice behind him. “Kenny! Look what I found!”

Immediately he turned on the spot, eyes zeroing in on a thankfully uninjured looking Clementine. One he ascertained that she was unhurt, his sight was promptly drawn to what sat upon her head.

It was a purely black hat, wide-brimmed, with a long pointy top that looked almost as long as Clementine’s arm. How it stayed perched atop her head, Kenny had no idea, especially when he saw that she hadn’t even bothered to take off her normal ball cap before fitting the new addition over it. Clementine had a wide grin on her face as she stood confidently before him, clearly proud of her discovery.

“I found it in one of the boxes!” She explained, hands coming up to adjust it slightly. “There’s all sorts of old stuff like that up here!”

Despite his earlier concern, Kenny couldn’t help but chuckle at her enthusiasm. “Well, look at you little lady. You look like a proper witch with that hat! You gonna go ask some walkers for candy?” He joked.

Clementine rolled her eyes, only for those orbs to go wide again a moment later. “You think there’s a whole costume up here?!” At once, she turned to start rooting through an open box that already had half it’s contents strewn across the floor. No doubt that was where she got the hat.

At that moment, AJ started fussing, and Kenny sighed, knowing he’d have to cut her fun short for the moment. “I’m thinking we should have some dinner first. AJ here’s getting anxious, and I don’t doubt that you’ll be feeling hungry soon too.”

The little girl groaned for a moment, and Kenny gave her a look, not willing to take any stubbornness from her. 

Finally, she gave in.  _ “Fiiiine.”  _ She moaned, only to perk up slightly as a thought popped into her head. “Can I keep the hat on though?”

Her tone was so hopeful that Kenny couldn’t help but give in. He shook his head in amusement as he chuckled. “Alright Clementine, just so long as it doesn’t get in the way.”

With a squeal of excitement, Clementine dashed down the stairs, and Kenny followed soon after, promising himself that they’d look through all these old halloween supplies together, once they were done eating. Anything to see Clementine happy like that...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	11. October 11th: Cuddling Under a Blanket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violet comes down with the flu, so Clementine keeps her company

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very short one. Short but cute I hope. As always, I hope you like this little drabble of mine

Violet had no idea what to do.

She was sick, covered in heavy blankets, with a drowsy Clementine cuddled into her side, and she had no idea what to do.

It had started out slowly, a small cough here, a sneeze there. It was honestly pretty mild for an illness, but Ruby had confined her to her bed nonetheless. As much as Violet had protested at the time, she knew Ruby wouldn’t back down when it came to something like this, and so here she was, in bed, trying to choke back coughing fits as she shivered under the covers.

That could’ve been the end of it, but the situation had taken a turn when Clementine had crept into her room, asking how she was and if there was anything she could do to help.

When Violet mentioned being cold, she had thought that Clementine would simply get her another blanket, or maybe brew up some of that coffee she was always drinking. What she hadn’t expected was for her girlfriend to pull back the covers and crawl into bed with her, wrapping herself around Violet’s body like it was the most casual thing in the world.

Violet had stammered and protested, with every excuse from _what about your work?_ To _I don’t want you to get sick too!_ But to no avail.

Before long, Clementine had fallen asleep like that, nestled under the blankets and against Violet’s side, while Violet herself was left to panic, her face burning with a heat wholly unrelated to any fever.

And that was where they remained, Violet unable to take her eyes off of Clementine’s peaceful face as the other girl slept, too paralyzed to do anything about it.

_‘At least it’s warm…’_ Violet thought to herself. 

It was true. Clementine’s body against hers produced a warmth far greater than any number of blankets could hope to accomplish.

“Clem, you need to get up…” Violet made one last attempt at removing the other girl, poking at her shoulder in emphasis. Of course, that only made her cling on tighter, and Violet couldn’t help but wonder if the other girl was faking her sleep simply to avoid Violet’s attempts at protest. A slight smirk on Clementine’s face seemed to prove that theory, but Violet simply sighed, too tired to continue fighting it.

All she could do now was embrace the warmth and the comfort, and hope that Clementine wouldn’t be too sorely missed by the others, or at least that they wouldn’t find her in such a compromising position.

When Violet eventually fell asleep, it was the best sleep she’d had since she’d gotten sick, and some deeply buried part of her thought that maybe they should do this again sometime, _after_ she was better.

At the very least she could say it was worth the embarrassment to be able to hold Clementine like that… at least, until a week later, when Clementine started to cough...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	12. October 12th: Candy Corn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A modern AU with a Lee who adopted Clementine and AJ. After a long night of trick or treating, Clementine sorts through their haul, only to come across an old enemy...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: If you like Candy Corn, this may not be the story for you. In all seriousness, you can like whatever you like. This is just some harmless fun. I hope you'll like it!

Clementine sorted through the bag of candy with the contemptuous ease of someone who had years of practice, humming and hawwing as she inspected each hard-earned prize before dropping them into their respective piles.

Her system was the result of years of practice, and it was a tradition she was happy to pass on to her adopted little brother, AJ, who was sat next to at the kitchen table.

He watched her work through the bag, his own on the table in front of them, waiting it’s turn. They’d had a good haul this year, and Clementine was eager to work through it all so they could get to the fun part, actually eating what they’d gathered.

Of course, that part became a little bit harder once their adopted dad Lee walked into the room, an easy smile on his face as he watched her work. Knowing him, he’d want them to  _ save  _ the candy and  _ ration it out  _ or something.

Lee whistled as he looked over what she’d already piled out onto the table. “Wow… that’ll be enough to keep you two hopped up on sugar for months!”

More like a week if Clementine had anything to say about it. Half the fun of getting so much candy was stuffing your face until you were sick! At least, that was her opinion on the subject. “We’ll see.” She mumbled noncommittally, trying to hide her mischievous smile, though Lee knew her well enough by now that it was probably a wasted effort.

That smile turned into a grimace, lips curling in disgust as she pulled out a bag of candy corn. “Yeah, no way. Garbage.” She spat out, lips curling in disgust at the mere memory of that awful taste the first time she’d tasted the dreaded candy.

Clementine moved to drop the bag into the trash pile, which was mercifully rather small at the moment, only for Lee to speak out. “Really Clem? You can’t just let it go to waste like that. Maybe AJ wants some?”

Her beloved brother would never be forced to taste such an abomination if she had anything to say about it, but, knowing Lee wouldn’t take no for an answer, she gave a dramatic sigh as she presented the bag to AJ. “Well, what do you think goofball?”

He looked at it for only a second before pushing it away. “If you don’t want it, then I don’t want it.” AJ said firmly.

Lee sighed at his refusal, but Clementine simply smiled. She had trained him well.

Again moving the candy corn to the garbage pile, she rolled her eyes as Lee objected once more. “Well, if he doesn’t want it, then I’ll have it. I’m not so picky.”

“It’s your funeral.”

He took the little bag, and immediately opened it up, shaking it until a few of the little candies fell out into his palm.

As Clementine watched in disgust and shame at her father-figure, Lee popped them into his mouth with no hesitation.

For a moment or two, Lee didn’t react, keeping a poker face that lasted just a little too long to be genuine. Then, his face twisted into a grimace as he dropped the bag on the table, Clementine laughing at him all the while.

“Maybe it’s not  _ quite  _ the same as I remember it.” He said, a look of disgust on his face.

Clementine took the bag once more, cocking her eyebrow at him. “Garbage?”

For a moment or two, he seemed undecided, until he finally nodded his head, clearly embarrassed to have been so wrong. “Garbage.”

With a smirk, Clementine dropped the bag of wretched little candy into the trash pile, damning it to an eventual fate in the garbage can.  _ ‘So long vomit candy. You will not be missed.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	13. October 13th: Boo!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis makes it his mission to scare everyone at Ericson's, but this time he might have bitten off more than he can chew...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't have much to say this time. I enjoyed making this, and I hope you'll enjoy reading it!

Louis, was on a mission.

Specifically, he was on a mission to scare every last person at Ericson’s, and so far, it was going  _ great. _

He had already gotten to Aasim, Ruby, and Willy, and he was three for three in his success rate.

Aasim had squealed like a little girl, practically falling over from where he’d been sitting at a picnic table. He’d stormed off in a rage afterwards, but Louis was too busy busting his gut laughing to care.

Ruby was in the greenhouse when he found her, tending to the plants. She’d almost doubled her height jumping, and immediately launched into a tirade of curses and insults that would have given his old, snobby parents heart attacks if they’d been there to hear it. What was even better was the way she turned almost as red as her hair, sending Louis into hysterics, which had the side effect of making her even angrier.

Willy wasn’t quite as entertaining, but it was still a lot of fun. Unlike the other two, he’d actually laughed along with Louis once he realized what was happening. It wasn’t quite the reaction he was going for, but he supposed sharing a laugh with a friend was just as good.

Next on his list… was  _ Violet. _

It was a risky venture to be sure. Everyone was on guard now after the first few scares, and she always seemed to be on guard whenever he was around.

Finally though, he saw an opportunity. Violet was talking with Clementine in the yard, and Louis knew she’d be too besotted with her lady love to pay attention to her surroundings. Violet may act tough, but she was really a big softy underneath, something he knew well after years of friendship.

He snuck up slowly, not wanting to waste this rare chance by jumping the gun and alerting her early. Clementine must’ve seen him, judging by the way her lips twitched upwards as he approached, but she said nothing. Violet didn’t notice her girlfriend’s reaction either. No doubt she was too busy thinking about how much she wanted to kiss those lips to think about  _ why  _ she was smiling.

At long last, the time had come. Raising himself to his full height, Louis gathered all the air he could into his lungs as he lunged forward. “BOO-GAH!”

One minute, Louis was lunging forward, intending to grab Violet by the shoulders to give her the fright of her life, the next, he was flat on his back, all the air driven from his lungs. His jaw was sore, and all he could do was moan in pain as the world spun above him.

With zero hesitation, just as he was about to touch her shoulder, Violet had whipped around, laying him flat on the ground with a truly  _ mean  _ right hook.  _ ‘Uuuhh. Is my jaw broken? I feel like it’s broken.’ _

Just as the world stopped spinning in circles, two faces came into his line of sight. Clementine, and Violet. The blonde looked down at him with hard eyes, though she couldn’t hide her smirk. “Don’t you  _ ever  _ try anything like that with me. Next time I won’t be so gentle.”

Clementine had a smug grin on her face as she gazed down at him. “Well, you might have had that one coming Louis. Oh, and by the way, I wouldn’t suggest trying that with me either. Not that you’ll even get the chance.”

_ ‘We’ll see dear Clementine…’  _ Louis thought to himself as they walked away, leaving him prone on the ground.  _ ‘We will see…’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	14. October 14th: Scarecrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis and AJ decide to make a scarecrow... with mixed results

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not particular inspired by this one, but I hope you find some amusement in it anyway. I do have a big plan for the next prompt thought, "Haunted House", so get ready for that!

As Clementine waited for Louis and AJ’s grand unveiling, she found herself wondering how things had led to this moment.

It had started simple enough, when she walked in on Louis teaching AJ about Halloween. It was sweet of him to do so, and that alone wouldn’t have aroused any suspicion on her end. It was what came after that had her guard up.

The conversation had turned to the topic of scarecrows, and how they were a _must have_ for Halloween decorating. Or at least, that’s what Louis claimed. Her family had certainly never used scarecrows as decorations, and she was _pretty sure_ that Louis had once mentioned that his family didn’t really do decorations, so his supposed knowledge was in question.

Before she could even join in on the conversation, Louis was pulling AJ along and out of the room, talking about how they were going to build their own scarecrow.

Again, fairly innocuous on it’s own, but that changed when Louis _insisted_ that no one be allowed to see what they were working on until it was done. One could argue that they simply didn’t want to spoil the surprise, but somehow, it just didn’t seem as innocent when a jokester like Louis was at the helm of the project. Clementine had narrowed her eyes at that, but she reluctantly played along, willing to wait and see just what they were cooking up…

And that was what led her here, as AJ pulled her along by the hand, clearly eager to show off his work. Clementine couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm, even if the suspense was making her somewhat nervous. It didn’t help that they were showing her before anyone else. One couldn’t help but wonder why it was so private...

He brought her to an old classroom, where they had been working in secret. Louis was waiting within, along with a mysterious person-shape covered in an old tarp. What drew her attention though, was the leftover material seemingly littering every surface. There were bits of straw, leaves, and even chunks of cut up burlap left over from their creation. Clementine frowned at the waste, but ultimately let it go, since it clearly made AJ happy.

After a short greeting, Louis grabbed the sheet, clearly eager for her to see their masterpiece. For her part, Clementine planned on praising it no matter what it looked like, not wanting AJ to be sad.

With an appropriate amount of flourish for the dramatic Louis, he pulled the tarp away, leaving Clementine to gape at what laid underneath, her words of encouragement vanishing from her mind.

Made up of sacks filled with leaves and straw, the scarecrow had on a purple jacket with a blue shirt underneath, a pair of torn up old jeans, and clean, yellow straw around the head that she could only assume was meant to be hair. The face held an exaggerated frown, and glaring eyes, painted on. While it was a generally poor imitation, she could guess at who it was supposed to be…

“Is that _Violet?!”_

Louis nodded with a mischievous grin. “She’s the scariest person I know. Who else would I pick? That’s why we’re doing this one at a time. I want Violet to be last so everyone can see her reaction…”

He trailed off as the door creaked open behind Clementine, and they all turned as none other than _Violet_ herself walked through the door. “Hey Clem? Whatever you’re doing, could you hurry it up? We need you at…”

The blonde stopped dead in her tracks as she stared at her straw counterpart, whatever words she’d had to say dissipating from her tongue.

Clementine took the opportunity to slip past her, getting herself out of the room with AJ close behind in order to escape the inevitable explosion.

They’d barely made it halfway down the hall when the yelling started, and even Clementine winced at the language emanating from the old classroom, though she didn’t stick around for long, deciding it was best to go do some work while Louis and Violet sorted this out on their own.

Needless to say, Scarecrow Violet did not survive the encounter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	15. October 15th: Haunted House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Desperate for shelter from the coming night, Clementine and AJ find themselves a seemingly untouched house on the edge of town. How safe it truly is though, is anyone's guess... Part 1 of 2!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one I was actually excited for! it's also gonna be split into two parts, since I think the upcoming "Full Moon" prompt works very well for what I have planned. I hope you'll enjoy this little tale, and I hope you'll stick around for part two!

It was a cold, october evening, and Clementine was getting desperate.

She had been looking for a place where she and AJ could spend the night all day, and so far they were out of luck. Every place they had checked had been swarming with walkers, too many for her to try and take on. Now, night was nearly upon them, and they had no place to take shelter.

That changed when they came across a strange house on the edge of town, Clementine adjusting AJ in his sling on her back as she observed from the edge of the driveway.

What was strange about this particular house was how _clean_ it looked. Most buildings were showing at least some wear and tear at this point, with no one left to perform upkeep. This place though, looked at though it had just finished construction _that day._ It was in absolutely perfect condition.

Normally, Clementine would’ve suspected that someone was already calling this place home, but that just didn’t make any sense. She’d searched all over this town, and there were no signs that anyone alive still called it home. Valuable sources of supplies were unplundered, the only bodies around were the ones still walking, and, most damning of all, there was no sign of any fortification on the house itself. Surely anyone who’d taken such good care of the house would want to defend it, right? It just didn’t make sense.

Frowning, Clementine blinked rapidly as she realized that she was now halfway up the yard, almost to the door. Funny… she didn’t remember moving any closer.

In a way, she almost felt… _drawn_ to the house, though she supposed that made sense, considering it might be her one shot at safety for the night. Still, there was something _off_ about this particular feeling…

Shrugging it off, she stepped up onto the deck, reaching for the doorknob as she readied a pistol in her other hand, ready for whatever might be waiting inside.

Just as she started to turn it, the hairs stood up on the back of her neck, and she whipped around, gun raised as she scanned the surrounding area. _‘That’s odd… feels almost like I’m being watched.’_ And yet, there was no threat to be seen. Lowering her pistol, Clementine let out a sigh, and, with no more hesitation, turned the door knob, stepping inside as she pushed the door open.

The inside of the house just brought more questions to Clementine’s mind. Like the outside, it seemed to be in perfect condition, and yet there wasn’t a person in sight. There were a few pairs of shoes and boots lined up on a mat by the door, but they clearly hadn’t been moved in quite some time.

Touring the rest of the house, it was apparent that this particular house had been left completely untouched by what was happening to the rest of the world. Cutlery and dishware were all in their correct spots in the kitchen. All the food had been left in the fridge and cupboards, though much of it had long since gone bad. Chairs and other furniture were all in their rightful place, and there were pictures on the wall in the living room, depicting a completely normal looking family of a mother and father, three kids, and a golden retriever. It was as though they had all simply gotten up one day and left without taking anything, a theory reinforced when Clementine saw an opened newspaper and a mug on the table, though its contents had long since evaporated away.

How no one had ever taken over such an idyllic little spot Clementine had no idea. Come to think of it, she hadn’t even seen any walkers in the area as she approached, like the house itself existed away from the rest of the world.

The one thing she could complain about was how _cold_ the whole house seemed, far too cold for such a seemingly well-built house. Oh well, it wasn’t like she wouldn’t be cold anywhere else she decided to stay. At least this place seemed safe enough for the night.

Clementine had already picked out the master bedroom upstairs for herself and AJ, but she decided to do one last safety check before the sun fell, just in case.

To her surprise, all the windows and doors were already locked tight, and the house itself was solid. No doubt that was a contributing factor to how the place had remained intact, though that still didn’t explain how no one had ever got in, considering the front door was unlocked. Just to be on the safe side, she moved some furniture around, blocking off some of the entrances and windows as best as she could.

That just left the front door to check. She already knew it was unlocked, so once she took care of that, the place should be pretty secure…

As she reached out to engage the lock, Clementine frowned, looking closer as she realized the door was _already_ locked. _‘That’s odd… must be some sort of automatic lock.’_

Clementine flicked the lock off, and tried opening the door. It slid open smoothly, without even a creak. Nodding in satisfaction, she closed it again. Nothing. The door remained unlocked. _‘Okay. that’s weird… I mean, I guess the lock could just not work properly. I guess it would be too much to ask that everything in this place works perfectly.’_

As she engaged the lock once more, AJ suddenly started fussing, whining loudly as he started wriggling in his cloth sling. Rolling her eyes, Clementine reached back to pull him into her arms, shushing him as she rocked him gently. “Come on AJ… everything is fine. We’ve got food, and we’ve got a safe place for the night. Let’s try to enjoy this, okay?”

That got him to stop making noise, though judging by the frown, he still wasn’t very happy.

Clementine sighed. _‘Maybe he’s getting hungry. I think it’s time we both got some food into us…’_

And with that, Clementine set off for the kitchen, AJ still in her arms, determined to enjoy the relatively novel experience of eating at an actual dining table. Hopefully he’d be feeling better once he got some food into him, and then, they’d get to sleep in a _real_ bed for a change.

She allowed herself to forget her misgivings about the strange house, simply enjoying the fact that they could be truly _safe_ for once...

_To be continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	16. October 16th: Full Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine and AJ settle in for the night, but the peaceful sleep she had hoped for might just turn out to be one of the most terrifying moments of her life... Part 2 of 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very excited to put this one out! Probably my favorite so far. It was one of the first ideas I had when I saw this challenge, so I'm definitely happy to be sharing this one with you guys! Like always, I hope you have a good time with this!

As the sun set that night, Clementine readied herself to sleep in a real bed for a change.

It didn’t take all that much to get ready, since she’d be sleeping in the same clothes she always wore, but she did make sure the master bedroom was in good condition before she settled in.

Like the rest of the house, the bedroom was in perfect condition, without even any dust on the shelves or the floor-length mirror that stood against one wall. Once again, Clementine couldn’t help but wonder if this house had been occupied recently, and they just hadn’t managed to leave any other trace of themselves besides the spotlessness of the whole place.

The bed was king-sized, with a large brown comforter and simple, white sheets underneath. There were two pillows stacked atop each other on either side of the bed, soft enough that Clementine could be sure that she’d have a pleasant rest for once.

Humming to herself softly, Clementine set her backpack near the door, while AJ was deposited onto the bed. 

She’d expected AJ to be excited at the new experience, seeing that he’d never actually had a real bed before, but he continued to be fussy. It seemed like every time she left his immediate line of sight, he’d start whining or huffing, until she either stepped back into view or he managed to turn himself around to see her. She just couldn’t seem to find an explanation. He’d been fed, and Clementine had made sure that he relieved himself. AJ also showed no interest in sleeping, leaving her completely befuddled as to what the problem was. Eventually, she just had to chalk it down to him being in a bad mood, and hope that he’d get over it soon.

Sighing, Clementine stepped over to the window, looking out onto the street for one last check before she turned in for the night. All clear, not even a walker in sight.

The sun had fully disappeared into the horizon by this point, leaving only an inky blackness in the sky as the room grew dark, broken up by the faint light of distant stars. To Clementine’s mild surprise, it was a full moon out. She made sure to carry AJ over to the window so he could see the pretty sight himself, but that only made him fuss more, writhing and struggling in her grip until she was forced to put him down.

With a frown, Clementine gazed out the window at the moon hanging overhead, wondering what had AJ so upset. As she squinted at the round shape, a sudden chill ran up her neck, the same one she felt when she’d first entered the house.

Gasping slightly, she scanned the outside one last time through the window, finding no sign that anything was amiss...

_‘Okay.’_ Clementine decided finally. _‘I might just be getting tired. Time for bed.’_

With that, Clementine crawled into bed, pulling the heavy covers over her as she pulled AJ close, not wanting him to fall off the bed or anything. He seemed a little bit calmer now, snuggling into her side, but he still seemed nervous. _‘It could just be that he’s in a new place, but that wouldn’t really make sense… it’s not like we really ever stay in one spot for long, he should be used to it.’_

Yawning softly as she stretched out, the hard day she’d had finally caught up with her, and Clementine drifted into sleep with AJ in her arms…

Suddenly, her eyes shot open as a loud _crash!_ echoed throughout the house, as though every piece of furniture in the house had fallen over at once. The bedroom was almost pitch black by this point, and AJ was shrieking in fright as she threw the covers away and grabbed her gun from where she’d left it on the nightstand, standing as she did so.

Thinking quickly, she left AJ on the bed, not wanting him in harm’s way from whatever was happening down there. As she quickly opened the door and closed it behind her, she silently hoped that something had just fallen over…

Pacing rapidly down the stairs, Clementine had her gun up as she reached the bottom, scanning all over the house as she searched for the source of the disturbance.

Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t seem to locate what had fallen, and it didn’t seem like anything had broken in. As she checked the back door, a thought occurred to her that made her blood run cold…

_‘Wait, didn’t I put a bookshelf in front of that door?’_

Running to the living room, she found that same bookshelf, right where she had first found it, all it’s Knick knacks and pictures back in their places from where Clementine had taken them all down. Heart beating like a racehorse, she checked all the windows and doors she had blocked off, finding the exact same situation each time. Everything she had moved, was somehow back in its place. _‘Wha-what the fuck?! What the hell is going on?!’_

Clementine hurried over to the front door, trying the lock, but it wouldn’t budge, no matter how hard she tried. She twisted it harshly, but it was almost like _something was pushing back._

Suddenly, she heard AJ _scream_ above her, a sound different from his earlier shrieks. It was almost like… _‘Oh god! Something’s wrong! AJ, I’m coming!’_

She charged through the house, almost slamming into the wall as she turned to the stairs, barreling up the steps two at a time as she tried to reach AJ. Reaching the bedroom door, she gripped the door knob tightly, but _it wouldn’t turn._ Breathing heavily in panic, Clementine realized that the lock had somehow been engaged, though she was sure that she’d left it untouched.

AJ’s cries grew louder, and her panic turned to pure desperation as she started aiming kicks into the wood door. “Don’t worry AJ! I’m here!”

For a moment, Clementine feared that her efforts were futile, until, with the horrible noise of splintering wood, she kicked the door in, sending it swinging in until it slammed against the bedroom wall.

Inside, Clementine’s eyes locked onto AJ, sitting at the center of the bed. In her haste, she hardly even registered that he seemed to be _looking at something_ as he shrieked, scooping him up in her arms as she stepped away from the bed.

Out of the corner of her eye, Clementine saw movement, and she raised her pistol, turning just in time to see _something_ reflected in the mirror against the wall, just for a moment, before it vanished.

Whatever it was, Clementine had no interest in sticking around to find out. Turning back to the door, she only managed a single step forward before, out of nowhere, the door slammed closed on them once again. Mind almost blank with terror at this unexplained occurrence, some deep, animalistic part of Clementine’s brain told her that she wouldn’t be getting out that way.

For a moment, she froze, all her skill and survival instincts unable to help her against what she currently faced. All the while, AJ grew louder and louder, as an unnatural chill settled upon her skin, the same cold she’d felt twice before.

Scanning around the room, one final, desperate plan sprung forth in Clementine’s mind, and she sprinted for the window, shattering it with just two hard kicks.

From there, keeping AJ tucked tightly against her side, she climbed out onto the roof, trying her best to shuffle down the windowsills until she could reach the ground. Stepping onto a second story windowsill, she heard a terrible noise from within the house.

It was as though all the furniture within was being tossed around, almost as though the house itself was throwing a tantrum at the possibility of them escaping. Clementine's eyes widened as she realized the noise was growing closer to the room who’s window she was currently clinging to. _It was coming for her!_

Looking down, Clementine realized that she’d have no choice but to jump, and aim for the bushes below. Just as the door to the room seemed to slam open, they made their leap of faith, crashing down into the bushes with a thud.

Clementine groaned at the impact, but there was no time to nurse her many scratches and bruises. Without a word, she hoisted AJ in her arms, belatedly realizing that she'd left her bag in the house. _‘Fuck that! There’s no way I’m going back in there. I can find more stuff later!’_

As she ran down the street, not knowing where she was going, only that she needed to get away from this place, she chanced one last look back at the strange house.

For a moment, her heart _stopped_ as she swore that there was _something_ watching her from the window of the master bedroom. Just a blink later, and it was gone, like it had never existed. Before her very eyes, her backpack was ejected from the window, falling to the pavement of the road as it’s contents scattered across the ground. Then, the window seemed to reconstruct itself, glass pulling itself back together until it was as if it was newly made.

Finally, the clamor stopped, but Clementine kept running, the full moon shining overhead that now now seemed almost _malicious_ to her, with no intent of ever returning to this cursed place again...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	17. October 17th: Hot Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine tries to unwind after a long day of work...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this totally isn't a vent fic for how my day's been going XD. Seriously though, it hasn't been that bad. I just have a lot to do, and so I end up panicking and not doing anything, which just makes me more stressed... you get the idea. Still, I hope you'll enjoy this extremely short fic, and I'm sorry it isn't longer

Clementine sighed. It had been a hard day organizing the school’s supplies for the winter.

They recently started trading with nearby settlements, as well as setting up a farm within the walls, and while that meant they had plenty of go around, that abundance posed a problem in it’s own right.

For years, the kids of the school had been constantly teetering on and off the edge of starvation, never quite feeling secure with what they had. While that was of course a bad thing, it did have one benefit in that storage was never an issue, seeing that they had little  _ to  _ store. Now that they had more than enough however…

Most of Clementine’s day had been spent cleaning up the old kitchen, and cafeteria, in order to turn it into a proper warehouse for all the supplies they were bringing in. Ever since the teachers had left, the kids had pretty much left the school to slowly fall apart, doing only the minimal upkeep needed to maintain some level of comfort. That meant there was a lot of cleaning to be done to make certain parts of the school livable again, or, at least, safe to store food in.

Needless to say, Clementine was exhausted by the end of the day. Even if she hadn’t done much of the cleaning herself, just getting the other kids to do it would’ve been enough to make her lose her mind. There was a reason why the school was so filthy, and it wasn’t because it’s inhabitants loved cleaning.

At the end of the day, sitting at her desk in the old Headmaster’s Office, the one thing Clementine had to make her feel better, was the cup of coffee she nursed in her hands.

Finding that coffee heater had been a blessing, and AJ finding actual coffee in the school’s kitchen had been an answered prayer. She’d gained a taste for the bitter liquid out on the road, and now it was her one chance to unwind after a long day.

Taking a long sip, Clementine sighed as she heard yelling echo throughout the administration building, indicating yet another problem she’d have to deal with.

Yep… it was a  _ long  _ day...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	18. October 18th: Couple Costumes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine and Violet dress up for a costume party. Bickering ensues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not particularly inspired by this one, but I hope you find it funny nonetheless. I've honestly been in a rut the last couple of days. Here's hoping tomorrow will go better!

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”

At that moment, Clementine and Violet were getting ready for a halloween costume party, and Violet was already complaining.

“Well, you agreed, and now we’re doing this! Just put the wig on!”

Clementine was in charge of costumes this year, and she had chosen for them to go as one of her favorite tv couples of all time.

Violet continued to grumble as she shoved the red wig over her normal blonde hair. “I thought you hated this show? You wouldn’t stop whining about it for  _ months  _ after it ended. I would know, I had to sit there and listen to you the  _ entire  _ time while you complained about every little thing in it.”

Clementine rolled her eyes as she slipped into a thick, black cloak of faux-fur. “I hated the  _ ending.  _ Most of the show was fine. You would know if you’d ever bothered to watch it with me like I wanted!”

Slipping on a similar fur coat, though this one was white and brown all over, Violet ignored that comment, preferring to continue her line of complaints. “I know  _ some  _ of what happened. Not like I couldn’t with  _ you  _ jabbering about it all the time. Didn’t they try to kill each other or something? Not exactly super-romantic if you ask me.”

“She tried to kill him.” Clementine corrected matter-of-factly. “And it’s a  _ tragic  _ romance Vi! That’s what makes it so great! Even after everything, they still love each other, and she ends up dying in his arms! That is  _ so  _ romantic!”

Now it was Violet’s turn for an eye roll as she slung a bow over her back “If you say so Clem… still, are you sure about this? I doubt there’s gonna be a whole lot of people wearing stuff like this, especially if the ending was as bad as you said…”

Clementine just huffed as she strapped a plastic sword to her waist. “I spent  _ a lot  _ of money on these costumes Vi. We’re wearing them. End of story.”

The blonde paused then, eyeing her girlfriend with trepidation. “Uh, Clem…  _ how  _ much did you spend on these, exactly?”

“More than I’d be comfortable with Lee finding out about. Are you done?”

“Yeah… I think so.”

Standing straight, they observed each other in their costumes. Clementine was going as Jon Snow, while Violet was Ygritte, both characters from the once-hit show Game of Thrones. Clementine put on a heavy accent. “Ready to go Ygritte?” She stared at Violet expectantly.

The other girl just sighed. “Yeah, I guess there’s no getting out of this. Lets go.”

“Viiii.” Clementine whined.

“I’m not saying it.”

_ “Viiiiii!” _

“Urgh,  _ fine!”  _ She took a deep breath.  _ “You know nothing, Clementine.” _

“You’re supposed to call me-”

_ “I’m not calling you Jon!” _

This was going to be a long night...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	19. October 19th: Sweet Treats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine rewards herself after a hard day at school. Of course, once she starts, it may be hard to stop...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this is a day late. Was hard at work on a midterm paper. This and the next one are both pretty short, but I hope they can give you a little chuckle nonetheless...
> 
> Both this and the next chapter are modern AUs, just to avoid confusion.

Clementine smiled to herself as she pulled the cardboard box out from under her bed.

It had been a long day at school, with one particularly tricky essay that had her at her wits end, though she managed to finish in the end. Now, she was back home, and ready to dig into her stash of candy and chocolate left over from halloween. Normally she would’ve long since finished off the lot of it, but Lee had dug his heels in, making it clear that he wanted this year's candy to last more than a week.

It had been frustrating, knowing that so many goodies were hidden away under her bed, only able to have a few at a time, while her friends at school were all pigging out. Still, she couldn’t deny that it was paying off now, giving her a nice reward after the grueling day she’d had.

Eager to pick something out to celebrate her triumph over school, she flipped open the boxes lid, pulling out a plastic grocery that contained her entire stash. There were a couple dozen various bars and treats left at this point, a paltry sum considering what she’d started out with, but still quite a decent bit.

Reaching into the bag, she paused, paralyzed by indecision. Should she go with the mini chocolate bars with the caramel filling? Or the little apple gummies that she’d never realized existed before she’d got some from that man Alvin on the other side of town?

Biting her lip, Clementine decided it couldn’t hurt to give  _ both  _ a try… It had been a hard day, and she  _ deserved  _ it after all…

And so, sitting on the floor of her bedroom, back up against the side of her bed, Clementine chowed down on her candy, thoroughly enjoying the sweet interplay of chocolate and caramel, and the tangy taste of the apple gummies, almost  _ spicy  _ in a way.

As she reached the last of both treats, Clementine tried combining the in her mouth. The resulting taste was  _ unusual,  _ but far from unpleasant, and Clementine considered it a very successful experiment.

Of course, that only made her wonder what  _ other  _ combinations she could try. Eyeing the bag of sweets, she gave only the barest hint of mental resistance before reaching over for it. Surely it couldn’t hurt to have a  _ little  _ more, right? It was only right that she be able to enjoy herself after all her work…

In the end, one more led to  _ two  _ more, and then  _ three  _ more…

Needless to say, by the time Clementine was finished, she was left with an empty bag, a floor covered in wrappers, and a very disappointed Lee looming over her…

“Hehe…  _ whoops…” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	20. October 20th: Silly Tricks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis drags Clementine along to play a little trick on their friend Violet. Unfortunately, things might not go as they expected...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second one tonight! Hopefully I won't have another delay like that again. I'm just glad to be getting these out now. As always, I hope you enjoy this little piece of writing, though I know it's not my best work.

“Are you _sure_ this is a good idea?”

Clementine spoke those words from her hiding place in a bush, specifically one located in the front yard of Violet’s house.

She wasn’t alone. Next to her was her friend Louis, the one who had dragged her out here in the middle of the night to prank their mutual friend Violet. He had been eager to set his plan in motion, but she failed to share that enthusiasm, worrying about how the blonde would react to what they were about to do.

“It’s _fine_ Clem.” Louis whispered. “Just a bit of harmless fun. Just you watch, Violet might freak out a bit now, but she’ll be laughing about it later with the rest of us.”

That didn’t really sound like Violet at all to Clementine, but she sighed and nodded. She’d already come all the way out here, sneaking out under the watchful eye of Lee. No point in giving up now…

Louis moved carefully from the bush, rustling the branches as he dragged his little project with him. A mannequin of all things, that Clementine had no idea how Louis had gotten, and, to be honest, she really didn’t want to know. As she watched from the bush, he set it up right in front of the window of Violet’s bedroom, making sure it stood up straight so Violet would be able to see it clearly, hopefully getting a good fright in the process.

Luckily, the curtain was open, making this much easier. Clementine just hoped Violet was a light sleeper, or this would all fall apart.

The mannequin in place, Louis placed himself just out of sight of the window, plastered against the wall. Raising his fist, he gave the glass four hard raps, before rushing back to the safety of the bush, crouching down next to Clementine as leaves and branches snagged on his coat.

They waited… nothing.

Clementine’s brow furrowed. “Do you think she’s still asle-”

Before she could even finish her sentence, an unidentified object, possibly a phone of some kind, crashed through the window with the horrible sound of shattering glass, slamming right into the mannequin’s torso and knocking it over. Evidently Violet had taken a rather _violent_ reaction to their little prank.

The duo froze in shock for a moment, wondering what they should do. Should they turn themselves in? Leave before someone noticed them?

All of a sudden, lights started flickering on in the house as several voices started yelling. Louis seemed to make his decision then, standing up as he started sprinting away. “Every man for himself!” He shouted, not even stopping to look back.

_“Wha- you can’t just leave me!”_ Clementine followed close after, determined to not get caught for this.

Of course, things didn’t work out like that. Clementine returned home that night to find her adopted father, Lee, waiting for her in the living room. Before long, he’d ferreted out where she’d been, and made several phone calls. Needless to say, Clementine and Louis had to pay for a new window out of their own pockets, as well as endure a great deal of shouting from Violet’s mother, who Lee had mercifully talked out of pressing charges.

At least Louis got one thing right about his little prank. Violet _was_ laughing as her mother dressed them down, even if nobody else was...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	21. October 21st: Bonfires and S'mores

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violet has a s'more. Clementine wants the s'more. How far will Clementine go to get the s'more?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Here we go, back on schedule with day 21! I wasn't particularly inspired by this one, but I still had some fun with what I managed to come up with. I realize now that most of these stories for the challenge aren't really my best work since they're so rushed, but I hope you've been enjoying them nonetheless. 
> 
> 2\. I do have another TWDG fic coming up that should be much better than any of these, and I hope you'll stick around for that. It's a season rewrite with a heavier focus on Violentine. Not a whole lot that changes until towards the end, but I hope you'll find it interesting anyways!
> 
> 3\. With that, I hope you enjoy the story, and that you'll stick around for the rest of this challenge!

Clementine sighed blissfully as she leaned against Violet’s shoulder, using her girlfriend as a makeshift pillow as they sat around the campfire with Louis, Brody, and a few of their other friends.

Like most of their outings, it had been Louis’s idea to go camping. Unlike most of Louis’s ideas, this experience had yet to go south in some strange, stressful, or humorous manner, and thus, Clementine was happy to just relax with some of her favorite people in the world as the logs crackled pleasantly in the stone-lined fire pit.

“You still with us Clem?” That was Violet, tone amused as she shifted slightly on the log they shared, making Clementine grunt in protest as her headrest was disturbed. Clementine did her best to shrug as she grumbled under her breath, the movement awkward due to their positioning. Still, it was enough to get the message across.  _ I am happy right where I am, please do not disturb me or there will be consequences.  _ At least, Clementine hoped she got the message. Probably a lot to try and get across without speaking, but,  _ whatever… _

Violet chuckled as their friends chattered all around them, fully absorbed in their own conversations. “Guess you’re too tired for s’mores then?”

Clementine immediately sat up at the teasing tone, incensed at the very  _ insinuation  _ that there was such a thing as too tired for chocolate! Clementine was known among her friends to have something of a sweet tooth, and the promise of candy or chocolate never failed to raise her interest. “Of course not!” She said quickly. “Do… do you have any already made?”

With a smirk, Violet raised the arm that hadn’t been occupied with Clementine’s head. “Not much else to do considering I couldn’t  _ move…” _

Clementine ignored Violet’s accusing tone, instead staring at the  _ heavenly-looking  _ s’more clutched in her hand. She decided then and there that Violet was her  _ favorite  _ girlfriend as she reached for the treat, only to whine as Violet leaned back, putting it out of her admittedly rather short reach.  _ ‘Scratch that! Not my favorite! Not even in the top 10!’ _

_ “Viiiiiioleet! Gimme!” _

“Nuh uh uh.” Violet mocked. “What’s the magic word?”

The shorter girl glared at her. “Just give it to me!”

“Uh, no, that’s too many words, and also  _ not  _ the right one. Wanna try that again?”

Now truly desperate for the sweet chocolate and marshmallow treat that laid just out of her grasp, even as Violet had to hold her back with a knee to keep her from clambering over the blonde, Clementine gave in. “Violet…  _ please?”  _ With no shame at all, she even threw in the puppy-dog eyes. There was no such thing as too far when chocolate was on the line!

Violet’s eyes widened even as she smirked. “Wow, you  _ really  _ want this, don’t you?” She seemed to ponder it for a moment, smirk widening as an idea seemed to pop into her mind. “I’ve got it… how about you give me a kiss and-”

Before she could even finish her sentence, Clementine was lunging at her, slamming their lips together as they toppled over the log into the moist grass below.

Violet flailed for a moment, barely managing to keep from dropping the s’more into the dirt. Suddenly, the treat was wrenched from her grasp as Clementine pulled away, a smug smile on her face that only lasted a moment before said face was being stuffed with chocolate, graham cracker, and marshmallow. Violet stared in horrified fascination for a moment as the entire s’more vanished in one go, only to furrow her brow as she realized the ambient conversation had faded.

Sitting up fully, Violet peered over the log to see all of their friends staring at them, a mixture of shock and amusement on their faces… mostly amusement.

The blonde’s cheeks burned bright red as the catcalling and smart comments started, and she wished she could just curl into a ball and forget this night ever happened.

Clementine sat up next to her, a satisfied smile on her crumb-covered face, seemingly immune to the embarrassment Violet was feeling. Maybe that was just the post-sugar high keeping her in good spirits.Grinning, Clementine leaned in to peck her on the lips once more, leaving the taste of chocolate and marshmallow in her wake. 

Violet just groaned and blushed harder.  _ ‘Okay… maybe tonight isn’t a total loss…’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/
> 
> 1\. Okay, so I realize now that the summary sounds a bit like something you'd see in a bad smut, but I promise that was not my intent. I thought of the summary, and realized as soon as I was finished typing. I'm not gonna change it, cause I like it, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone went in thinking this was gonna be more risque than it was...


	22. October 22nd: Skulls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once again, Clementine stumbles across something strange in her travels. But this time, she's learned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I was actually excited for this one, since I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Still short, but I accomplished everything I wanted to do with it, so I don't really feel bad. I hope you'll like it!
> 
> 2\. Also, I never really explained it before, but every chapter involving the supernatural took place in the same universe, and this is the finale to that! I had it loosely planned out what I wanted to do, but I guess I never really got around to actually putting it in a summary or the notes to explain what was going on. Oh well, at least you know now!

Clementine sighed as she trekked through the woods with AJ strapped to her back, legs sore from walking for so long.

She had planned for them to rest at a nearby auto-shop they’d been using as shelter for several days now, but a sudden herd had forced them to make a detour. Assuming the shop hadn’t been overrun by now, they still had no way of reaching it with so many walkers between them and their safe-haven, and so Clementine was once again in dire need of a shelter for the night.

Finally, after what felt like hours of marching, with an increasingly restless AJ fussing behind her, Clementine spotted a potential shelter in an upcoming clearing.

It was a log cabin, old, with several broken windows and the look of a place that had been abandoned for quite some time, possibly even before the dead started walking. It likely wouldn’t be the comfiest of places to sleep, but, what else could they do?

As she approached the front door, Clementine felt an eerie cold run up her spine, and she froze in place. Anyone else would’ve simply dismissed it as an odd breeze, but Clementine had felt this cold before, at a strangely clean-looking house that had turned out to be haunted by some sort of malevolent entity.

With trepidation, Clementine shoved the door open with a single hand, fueled more by morbid curiosity than true desire to enter the cabin. What she saw made her heart stop cold.

Skulls. The entire, poorly-lit, one-room cabin was filled with skulls, covering every surface, from shelves to tables to a desk in the corner. The skulls were yellowed, and weather looking as well, as though they had been here far longer than the apocalypse. Many of them had cracks and chunks missing, like they had been the result of some violent crime. Others still were covered in splotches of worn, rusty brown. Dried blood. They all seemed to leer at her from the darkness of the cabin…

_‘Nope!’_

Just as quickly as the door had been opened, it was slammed shut again, as Clementine turned on her heel, quickly marching back into the forest with zero hesitation. She had no intent of having anything to do with whatever was going on in _there._

Over the course of her rather short, miserable life, Clementine had come across many strange and disturbing things. A disembodied knocking on her door at the motor inn that left only muddy footprints behind, a black cat that appeared only moments before the start of the worst day of her life in Savannah, and, most recently, a haunted house that hated trespassers and nearly killed her and AJ. She was officially _done_ with the supernatural.

AJ whined lightly, but Clementine ignored it, laser-focused on getting as far away from that cabin as possible. Those skulls could stay right where they were, and she would live on, happy to never see anything like that again as long as she lived!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	23. October 23rd: Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Clementine sleeps, a ghost of the past comes to haunt her...
> 
> WARNING: LOT'S OF BLOOD. DO NOT READ IF THAT IS A PROBLEM FOR YOU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I'm not gonna lie, this one almost made me give up the challenge. I just couldn't find a muse for what to write, and part of me wanted to just write some tiny little cop-out piece and call it a night. Then, it came to be. I suddenly knew exactly what to do, and this ended up being one of the longer prompts I've done for this challenge.
> 
> 2\. Still feel like it could've been better, but this is definitely one of the better little stories I've done for the challenge. I hope you enjoy it, though I'll warn you again that if you're squeamish about blood, this is NOT the chapter for you.

Clementine closed her eyes in her and AJ’s room at Ericson’s, and when she opened them again, she was in her old room at the motor inn.

Bleary eyes moved deliriously over the old stained carpet, chipped walls, and shoddy furniture, as Clementine barely registered a state of panic at her strange-yet-familiar surroundings. Something about this was  _ wrong,  _ but she just couldn’t figure it out…

Moving sluggishly, in an odd half-drunk state, Clementine crawled out of bed, pushing aside thin sheets that had never been enough to keep out the cold. She blinked slowly at that. The memory felt like a lifetime ago, and yet so fresh in her mind, as though her time at the motor inn had only been yesterday, rather than 8 years ago.

Still in that fugue state, Clementine crossed the small room, only vaguely realizing that she was 16, in the same clothes she had gone to sleep at Ericon’s in, and yet she had both her legs.

Stiffly, she opened the door, only for her eyes to widen as she was suddenly staring at a familiar blue shirt…

Looking up she came face to face with none other than her former guardian Lee. Only, instead of the strong, healthy man who’d kept peace at the motor inn, this Lee was pale, eyes bloodshot as thick droplets of red fell from the severed stump of it’s left arm. It smiled down at her, but this expression was far from the comforting warmth Lee had once shown. This smile was grim, mocking, and  _ twisted _ as dead-looking eyes stared into her soul.

Mouth moving stiffly through that rictus grin, Lee began to speak, with a cold, lifeless tone that made her skin crawl. “Well, you’ve been busy sweetpea.” The term of endearment oozed like poison from his lips as thick, almost black blood began to dribble from the corners of that smiling mouth. “I guess getting me killed wasn’t enough, huh? You had to bring a bunch of other innocent people down too. What a shame, so many others dead because of you, while you enjoy your happy little ending. That hardly seems fair, doesn’t it?”

Clementine tried to shake her head, to form words, to do  _ anything _ to deny the guilt bubbling up in her chest, but she couldn’t. It was true… it was  _ all true. _

As she stared numbly, the creature masquerading as Lee tilted it’s head, grin widening further, beyond what any human could manage. “Nothing to say for yourself? Well that’s unfortunate. Still,  _ it’s time you answered for WHAT YOU’VE DONE!” _

As it spoke, the creature grew louder, until it was screaming every word. Thick blood poured from its mouth, and yet Clementine understood every word perfectly.

Sensing danger, Clementine tried to step forward, to push past the abomination in a desperate attempt at escape, but it was too late. It slammed the door, shaking the room as a painting fell off the wall. Clementine grasped at the door handle, but it wouldn’t budge, no matter how hard she wrenched at it. The room continued to shake all the while.

Stepping back with a gasp, Clementine felt a terrible cold fill her body, like she was back in that snowstorm at the rest stop, but somehow  _ worse.  _ She shivered helplessly, even as her eyes scanned for any possible method of escape.

Suddenly, the shaking stopped, and Clementine breathed heavily, adrenaline coursing through her veins.

As she looked at the ceiling, already knowing she would find nothing of interest there, she took a step back idly, only to frown at the sound it made, like a boot stepping into a puddle…

Looking down, a scream tore at Clementine’s throat as she realized that blood was slowly filling the room, soaking the thick, shaggy carpet. At once, Clementine knew what this was. The blood of every person she had gotten killed, the ones she had left behind, or shot, or simply watched die.

The blood reached her ankles, seeping under her pant legs to reach her skin. Clementine let loose another wretched scream as the thick liquid made contact with her flesh. In contrast to the chill that still pervaded her very being, the blood was  _ burning  _ hot wherever it touched her, like she was being boiled alive. Thinking quickly, she jumped up onto the bed, staining the sheets with her bloody boot prints as she searched helplessly for anything that could save her.

It was no use though. As she tried and failed to find a way out, the blood continued to rise, seemingly moving faster as it overtook her safe haven, submerging the entire bed under the red tide as it quickly started to flow over her feet once more.

As the flow reached her legs and started to burn at her skin once more, Clementine started to sob from a mixture of fear and  _ regret,  _ knowing that this was all her fault…

As she tried to take another ragged breath, Clementine started to gag as she inhaled the thick scent of fresh blood, like rusted iron filling her lungs with each desperate gasp. The blood was at her waist now, and she held her arms up out of the deluge, even as her ribs began to burn in agony at the sticky red touch. It was as though she was having her leg chopped off again, but all over her body.

As it reached her chest, Clementine no longer had the energy to scream. Instead, she mumbled apologies, to Kenny, to Luke, to  _ Lee,  _ to everyone who had died because of her. Some desperate, animal part of her hoped it might save her, that whatever held her here would give her  _ mercy  _ if she showed sufficient remorse.

It didn’t work.

By now, the oozing red liquid was at her chin, burning at her neck like someone had shoved hot coals down her throat. The smell was overpowering now, and it was all Clementine could do to give pitiful little whimpers, her throat too ragged to cry out anymore.

Finally, the blood was lapping at her lips, the viscous fluid filling her mouth every time she tried to breath, making her gag at the taste of iron as it seeped stickily down the inside of her throat.

Clementine tried to cough, only allowing more of it into her mouth, and she knew it was filling her lungs now as she felt like she was burning alive from the inside out. As the blood rose to cover her head, Clementine closed her eyes, still mentally apologizing as her mind began to fade away, every inch of her aflame at the scorching liquid.  _ ‘I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…’ _

With a gasp, Clementine sat up in her bed, that same burning feeling in her lungs as she breathed deeply, her heart pounding in quick, staccato beats.

Eyes wide in animal-fear, Clementine looked around, taking in her room at Ericson’s. On the other side of the room, AJ slept peacefully, oblivious to the terror she had just experienced.

Clementine looked down, seeing that she once again had one leg as she got her breathing under control.

Blinking back the tears that threatened to escape as she recovered from the nightmare she’d just had, Clementine grabbed her crutches as she sat up. There was always work that needed to be done, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to be getting any sleep after what had just happened...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, as well as see extra content related to them, such as deleted scenes!
> 
> The tumblr post for this challenge can be found at: https://stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale.tumblr.com/


	24. October 24th: Golden Sunset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee and Kenny watch the setting sun as they discuss their situation...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Don't know where this came from, I just really wanted to write some friendship between Lee and Kenny! As always, I hope you like this little piece! Feel free to leave some feedback if you'd like!

It had been a busy day at the motor inn. Work had been done on the wall, and Kenny had put some effort into fixing up the RV they’d found when they first came to the place.

Now, Lee and the others could finally take a break and relax. Not even Lilly could deny them that after all they’d done that day, and so Lee was free to lean his arms on the wall and admire the glowing horizon as the sun fell.

“One hell of a view, huh?” Lee turned his head as Kenny sidled up next to him, the older man’s hands covered in black stains from working on the RV’s engine. 

Lee nodded. “You can say that again.” He chuckled softly as they observed the pretty sight together. “Y’know, if you’d told me back at the drugstore that three months from then, we’d be relaxing after a hard day’s work, just taking in the sunset… I’d have thought you were lying to my face.”

Kenny raised an eyebrow at that. “Weren’t you the one always telling us that everything would be okay?” He rubbed absent-mindedly at a particularly dark spot on the back of his left hand. “Guess I can’t blame you. After the power went off, part of me was thinking we were  _ fucked.” _

“I hear that. Still… I think we’re in a pretty good spot right now.”

It was true. Bringing Mark in with all that food from the commissary had been a god-send. Sure it was starting to run out, but between scavenging runs into Macon, and hunting in the surrounding woods, they’d probably be able to get by. And with the wall coming along nicely, they’d be safe from whatever walkers happened to wander by.

_ ‘All that work was worth it for the peace of mind alone…’ _

The first few weeks had been tough for everyone, having to keep a constant lookout for any walkers that got too close. It was the same every time. Someone would raise the alarm, and Katjaa would herd the kids into one of the rooms, while Lee, or Kenny, or Lily would deal with it. It was usually only one or two at a time, but still, every confrontation was another chance for someone to get bitten…

That was one problem taken care of, but there was still plenty to worry about. Lee sighed, almost inaudibly as he thought of Clementine, the girl he’d taken under his care.

Kenny seemed to notice that, gazing at him with sympathy. “You thinking about that girl of yours?”

He nodded again. “She’s been asking about her parents recently. She’s… she’s worried they won’t be able to find us.” Of course, Lee knew that her parents were most likely dead, but he just hadn’t had the heart to tell her that. Lee did his best to comfort her, but it was clear she missed them a lot.

“I can’t imagine what that must be like for her…” Kenny muttered, hands clutching the wood fence tightly. “Still, I think you’re doing about as good a job as you can with her, considering…  _ everything.” _

“I just worry about her, having to go through all this…  _ no  _ one should have to deal with all this shit, least of all a  _ kid.” _

Shifting slightly, Kenny sighed as he looked out over the horizon. “I understand. There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t worry about how Duck is handling all of this. Still, I feel better knowing there are people like you keeping him,  _ both of them,  _ safe.”

Lee smiled at the trust in the other man’s words, and they remained in silence after that, observing the orange skyline as the sun sunk below the trees. Things were going to be tough, for the kids most of all. Lee knew that. Still, as he watched the view with the man he’d grown to consider a friend, he couldn’t help but feel that things were  _ finally  _ going to be okay...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, interact with me, and see extra content related to my writing, such as deleted scenes!


	25. October 25th: Leaf Piles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine takes a break from working in the headmaster's office to find a surprise waiting in the courtyard...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Just a cute little oneshot! Could be violentine if you squint, but it also works without it. Pretty short, but I had some fun with it, and I hope you will too!

Clementine stared in abject confusion at the sight before her.

She’d been up in the headmaster’s office all morning, working on some records for their latest trade with a nearby settlement. When she’d finally emerged to see how everyone else was getting on, the last thing she’d expected to see was the front courtyard  _ absolutely covered _ in leaves.

Like, maybe a few piles wouldn’t have been out of the realm of possibility, but  _ this many?  _ How did that even happen?

As she took in those who were currently  _ in  _ the courtyard, it all started to come together in her mind…

AJ and Tenn were clearly having the time of their lives, gathering leaves into piles to jump in or throw into the air. Louis was there too, and, as she observed from the steps, he made a running leap, flopping into a truly  _ massive  _ pile, scattering orange and yellow leaves all over the place. That partially explained who had orchestrated this, but what really had Clementine surprised was when she saw  _ Violet  _ with them.

Well, she wasn’t actually  _ with  _ them. She was watching the others from the safety of a nearby picnic table, though the satisfied half-smile on her face made it clear she’d had a part in setting this up.

How they’d managed to move that many leaves in so little time left Clementine baffled, but she couldn’t deny that it was worth the effort when she saw how much fun they were having.

For a time, she simply observed them at play, a fond smile on her face as she saw how AJ was able to act as a kid for once. It was heartening to see that people could still stop and engage in simple pleasures such as this. She’d done this all the time as a kid…

Clementine’s smile lessened slightly at the memory of playing with her parents, sorrow still filling her heart after all these years…

Before she could get lost in those thoughts, Clementine heard Violet call out, and she snapped her head over to look at the blonde, blinking owlishly at the sudden distraction.

“Hey Clem! I bet the view is nice over there, but are you gonna join in or what? It took  _ forever  _ to get this set up, and I’d appreciate it if as many people enjoyed it as possible before we have to clean it all up again.” Violet had a smug smirk on her face, and Clementine felt a sudden urge to  _ do something  _ about that.

Grinning, she rushed out into the yard to gather up some leaves.  _ ‘Okay Violet, let’s see how satisfied with your work you are when you have wet leaves shoved down your shirt…’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, interact with me, and see extra content related to my writing, such as deleted scenes!


	26. October 26th: Warm Apple Cider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee brings home another treat for his little family to enjoy. A sequel to the "Apple Pie" prompt!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. It might be a bit of a cop-out, but I figured the same basic set up would work for this prompt as for the apple pie one. As always, I hope you enjoy the story, and I hope you'll check out some of my other work, should you find any of it interesting.

It was another day at Richmond, and Lee had brought home another treat for him, Clementine, and AJ to enjoy.

_“Oh. My. God.”_ Clementine had gasped when Lee set two thermoses on the table, opening one up to unveil the sweet scent of apple cider as steam wafted from inside. “Where do you keep getting this stuff?”

“Ask Javier.” Lee chuckled, making sure AJ was set up in his high-chair before moving over to the cupboard to grab a few glasses for them, preferably before Clementine decided to just drink straight out of the thermos. “He’s the one who keeps giving it to me. It could very well be from that farming community we found out to the west. They’ve got a pretty big orchard from what I’ve heard.”

“Maybe we should’ve decided to live there.” Clementine mumbled, reaching for a glass as he set out three of them on the table, two medium-sized ones for him and Clementine, and a smaller one to give young AJ a taste.

“Don’t drink it all at once.” Lee warned gently as Clementine filled her glass up until it was nearly spilling over the edges. “We need to make this last.”

“Yeah yeah.” Clementine rolled her eyes, tilting her head slightly as she realized the problem with filling her glass all the way up. Namely, that she couldn’t even lift it without potentially spilling the sweet nectar inside.

As Lee poured a glass for himself and for AJ, he couldn’t help but laugh as his adopted daughter leaned down to slurp carefully from the glass without lifting it. She glared up at him with amber eyes, but her annoyance soon faded as she pulled back, lips curling into a smile at the taste of the cider. “This is really good!” Clementine declared, lifting the now-safe glass to take a big swig in emphasis, making a noise of satisfaction as she swallowed.

Nodding, Lee lifted the smallest glass up to AJ’s lips, even as the little boy’s hands grasped for it. Normally Lee would let AJ do it himself, to help him become more independent, but his sippy cup was dirty, and in the rush of the day, neither he nor Clementine had remembered to clean it.

Carefully, a small amount of liquid made it past AJ’s lips, and he pulled back from the cup, eyes blinking rapidly as he processed the new and unexpected flavor. Suddenly, he let out a squeal of delight, giggling as he reached for the glass, nearly knocking it out of Lee’s hands as his little graspers swung wildly.

Lee gave him another sip, eyeing his own rapidly cooling drink on the table. Before he could even ask, Clementine was taking over, grabbing the little glass gingerly as she continued to let AJ drink, giving Lee a chance to try his own.

Smiling at Clementine’s thoughtfulness, knowing how much she probably wished to be drinking her own cider right now, Lee took a slow sip of his own, slowly nodding as the sweet taste spread over his tongue, and down his throat. “I can see why you two love it so much.” He rumbled good-humoredly, chuckling as Clementine struggled to keep AJ under control.

Finally, she pulled back, returning to her own cider as AJ smacked his lips, hopefully satisfied for the moment.

Gasping slightly as she finished her glass, Clementine reached over for the thermos again, only to hesitate as she looked up at Lee for permission. “Is there… anymore of this?” She questioned in a nervous tone.

“I’m sure there’ll be more eventually.” Lee reassured as Clementine grasped the thermos. _“Still.”_ He said firmly as Clementine prepared to poor another glass. “We should make sure to ration it out. No point in drinking it all at once if you’ll only be wanting more later.”

Clementine sighed dramatically, but dutifully put the thermos down.

Lee frowned at that. “Well, I guess _one more glass_ couldn’t hurt-”

_“Oh thank you thank you!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, interact with me, and see extra content related to my writing, such as deleted scenes!


	27. October 27th: Baking Cookies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine wakes up to a delicious scent one morning before school. The source however, might proved to be more trouble than it's worth... A modern AU with Lee, Clementine, and AJ as a family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. For some reason, I've just decided that Clementine has a serious sweet tooth. I didn't plan it out that way, but it's just become a theme in these prompts. Of course, as we've seen before, it sometimes leads to trouble for poor Clementine...
> 
> 2\. Also for some reason whenever Clementine gets to try something sweet, Lee always gets involved in some way. I guess I just enjoy some cute father-daughter moments!
> 
> 3\. You know the drill! I hope you enjoy this little story, and that you'll stick around for more!

Clementine awoke that morning to the smell of fresh cookies.

It was unexpected to be sure, but  _ definitely  _ welcome as far as Clementine was concerned. So welcome in fact, that a process of getting out of bed and preparing for the day that would normally take half an hour, instead took only a few minutes as she all but threw herself out of her bed, throwing on a simple orange t-shirt and a worn pair of sweatpants. She scrambled out of her room, knowing that she’d have to come back to get ready for school, but too eager to locate the source of that  _ gorgeous  _ scent to really care.

She found Lee in the kitchen, a just finished stainless steel baking pan of cookies laid out atop the stove as another went into the oven. Clementine’s eyes zeroed in the sweet treats even as she muttered a quick “good morning” to her adopted father.

Chocolate chip. Simple, but definitely something she’d like to get her hands on as soon as possible. Already, Clementine’s mouth watered at the mere  _ thought  _ of tasting those freshly-baked cookies, the delightful warmth of them in her mouth… the way it would come apart as she bit into it, not yet hardened and crunchy… how the chocolate chips would absolutely  _ melt  _ on her tongue, almost  _ burning  _ they were so hot…

Almost without realizing it, she started forward, already racking her mind to remember where they kept the spatulas (Clementine was eager, but she still knew better than to burn herself trying to scrape cookies off the pan with her bare hands…).

“Not so fast!”

Clementine froze, one foot still in the air as she wobbled slightly before steadying herself on both feet. She turned pleading eyes towards Lee, already trying to think of the best way to convince him to let her have a few. She wasn’t above begging, not when it came to matters as important as this.  _ “Why noooot?”  _ She whined pitifully.

He gave her a stern look, unimpressed. “Because I know what will happen Clem. You’ll say that you’ll only have a few, and then the next thing I know, half the pan is gone and you’re too full for breakfast. You can have some when you get home.”

“If that’s such a problem then why did you bake them before breakfast.” Clementine mumbled under her breath, earning a sharp look from Lee that made her realize she  _ really  _ wasn’t helping her case by talking back like that. She tried another tactic. “If I don’t have some now, AJ’ll end up eating most of them!”

Even she knew how weak that argument was. AJ was still in bed, no doubt trying his usual strategy of hoping they would simply forget to wake him up and take him to preschool (they never did). With him at preschool and Clementine at her own school, the cookies would remain untouched until they got home. Even if he wasn’t going to school that day, he didn’t have  _ nearly  _ the sweet tooth Clementine did, so him eating them all was less of a worry than  _ herself  _ eating them all, at least, in Lee’s eyes.

“Here’s what’s going to happen.” Lee intoned, like he was negotiating a hostage situation. “I’ll let you have  _ one  _ cookie now, and then you’ll go and get ready for school. I’ll even get your cereal ready so you’ll have plenty of time to eat.”

“Gee, how  _ generous.”  _ Clementine muttered sarcastically, but she accepted the terms, deciding she’d simply sneak a few to school with her later once Lee wasn’t looking.

Lee served up a cookie on a spatula he pulled from a nearby drawer.  _ ‘So that’s where they are…’  _ She took it from him with a roll of her eyes, bringing it to her mouth with both hands to keep it from falling apart. Without a single moment of hesitation, Clementine bit into the cookie, letting the flavor fall against her tongue…

_ ‘Oh fuck that’s really hot!’ _

That was the first thought that popped into Clementine’s head as her face turned red and her tongue was  _ seared  _ by hot chocolate, burning in a way not at all like the pleasant fantasy she’d made up in her head. Or maybe it was said out loud, judging by Lee’s look of disapproval. She didn’t have time to think about that though, tears gathering at the edges of her eyes as she forced herself to swallow the burning chunk of cookie, still not wanting to waste it by spitting it out.

Lee’s disapproval morphed into amusement as he started to laugh at her suffering, ignoring the baleful glare she sent his way. “Well, what did you expect to happen? You saw very well that I  _ just  _ pulled them out of the oven. How many times have you burned yourself like that now?”

_ ‘Eleven…’  _ Clementine recollected bitterly in her mind, though she didn’t bother to respond, gingerly poking at her tongue and wincing at how raw it felt. Now she’d have to deal with that sensation the entire school day…

“Now, I think you’d better go get dressed. I’ll get your cereal ready. The milk should help with the burning at least.”

Clementine nodded, trudging back to her room, even as she clutched the rest of her cookie in her fist. She’d wait until she was dressed, and then, she was going to get  _ revenge  _ on that little bastard...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, interact with me, and see extra content related to my writing, such as deleted scenes!


	28. October 28th: Spiders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis comes to rescue Clementine from her most hidden fear. She may not like what he asks as a reward though...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Just a bit of cute Clouis. I've being doing mostly Violentine, so I thought I'd give some more Clouis a shot. I hope you like it!

Louis had just left his room that morning when he heard a bloodcurdling scream from down the hall.

Immediately, he was on high alert, registering the voice as belonging to none other than his girlfriend, Clementine. Even as he raced down the hall to her room, where the scream had originated from, Louis was already thinking of possible explanations for the noise.

_ ‘Did a walker get into her room somehow?! How would that even happen?! Is it a teleporting walker? Did it fly over the walls? *Gasp* is it a flying walker that can teleport?! _

Such thoughts and more raced through his mind as he reached Clementine’s door, another scream echoing through his ear drums as he all but threw it open in his haste. Inside the old dorm room, he saw Clementine, standing on top of her bed, wild, fearful eyes snapping towards him from where they’d been focused on the floor. AJ was nowhere to be seen.

“Okay, where’s the fire?!” Louis asked quickly, scanning for any sign of the thing that had Clementine so freaked out, but to no avail.

She breathed heavily for a moment, seemingly trying to pull herself together. After a long, deep breath, Clementine managed to get a few words out.  _ “It’s… there’s… I mean, there’s…” _ She shrieked again as she pointed to a tiny little dot scuttling along the floor.  _ “Spider!” _

Louis knelt down even as his girlfriend continued to babble, inspecting the little guy as he scurried along the floorboards. Yep definitely a spider. That still didn’t explain why she was so scared though, unless…

Louis gasped in barely restrained delight. “Oh my, Clem! It seems that our  _ fearless leader  _ has one fear after all! Who would’ve thought the badass walker slayer would be scared of a little bug!” He certainly never would’ve expected something like that out of the normally calm and collected Clementine.  _ ‘Oh well, I guess everyone is entitled to at least one irrational fear… still, I think I can have some fun with this…’ _

“Well, Clem, I think you have this well in hand. After all, the best way to overcome your fear is through exposure-”

_ “Please don’t!”  _ Clementine begged from her perch atop the bed as he made for the door. “Please just-just  _ kill it. _ I’ll do anything!”

For a moment, the older boy gave it some thought, wondering just what he should do with such a proclamation. Finally, it came to him like a lightbulb over his head. “I guess I can give you a hand…  _ if, _ you let me carry you all around the school. Y’know, since I’m your knight in shining armor and all that.”

Clementine glared at him, though the effect was somewhat ruined by her terrified body language.  _ “Just kill it!”  _ She growled.

“I will…  _ once you agree to my terms…” _

Fear and pride warred on her face for a few moments, until finally…  _ “Fine…”  _ She breathed, clearly annoyed, but also desperate as well. “I agree to your…  _ terms.  _ Just kill that stupid thing!”

With a smirk, Louis did just that, stomping heavily on the little punk, who sadly hadn’t had the presence of mind to get out while it still could. A tiny dark stain on the wood floor was the only sign it had ever existed at all.

With a sigh of relief, Clementine jumped down from the bed, only to look up startled as Louis loomed over her. “So…  _ about our agreement…” _

Needless to say, Clementine was thoroughly embarrassed that morning, first in front of her boyfriend who witnessed her secret fear, and then in front of the  _ entire school  _ when he paraded her around like some trophy of war. It didn’t help matters when Louis (accidentally, he stressed) dropped her trying to open the door to the admin building, leaving her  _ sore  _ as well.

Afterwards, Clementine retreated to the main office, intent on not showing her face for the rest of the day, as well as plotting revenge for her humiliation...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, interact with me, and see extra content related to my writing, such as deleted scenes!


	29. October 29th: Laziest Costume

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Clementine works quietly in the greenhouse, she soon finds herself as an audience to Louis's latest antic...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Not very happy with this one, but I wasn't exactly feeling inspired, and I was busy today so I just wanted to get this over with. Still, I hope it makes someone chuckle at least a little bit.
> 
> 2\. You know the drill! I hope you enjoy this little story of mine. Only two more to go after this, and then I'm free! Finally free! I mean, I've enjoyed this, but there are so many things I want to do, and sucks up a lot of my writing motivation per day, which is an unfortunately extremely limited resource.

Clementine was working peacefully in the greenhouse, enjoying her time away from everything, when she heard the door groan as it opened behind her.

She gave a quick glance back, planning to briefly greet whoever was coming in and then turn back to trimming the plants. As she looked back however, her words died on her lips as she saw just who, or  _ what,  _ had come through the door.

They were clearly taller than her (though that wasn’t saying much), and they were currently staring at her without a word. That wasn’t the strange part though. What was most striking was the fact that they were bodily covered in a large, white bed sheet, slightly yellowed with age, and carrying a few unexplained stains. Slightly off-center from the head, was a crude depiction of a face, just two large round eyes and a massive grin in black paint. The only sign as to who was under the sheet was their boots, still slightly visible under the edges of the ‘disguise.’

“Uh… hi Louis?” Clementine welcomed uncertainly, not sure what was going on.

“Hey Clem!” The older boy greeted, totally casual, like there was nothing at all strange about this interaction.

“What’s with the bed sheet?” She questioned, raising an eyebrow at his nonchalance.

“It’s my Halloween costume!” Louis answered proudly, spreading his arms wide as if to present himself to her. The action raised the bedsheet, revealing part of his pants as well.

“Okay…” Clementine decided not to question it, too used to Louis’s antics by this point to be overly phased.

“I’m just going around showing everyone, seeing if I can inspire anyone else to make their own costume. It’s only a few more days til Halloween, so I wanted to make sure everyone is in the proper…  _ spirit. WooOOooOO.”  _ He raised his arms towards her, wiggling his fingers through the sheet as he made what she could only assume were supposed to be ghost noises.

“Alright Louis.” Clementine was already turning back to her work, mind going through her list of chores for the day to make sure she didn’t miss anything. “Have fun with that. Make sure you show AJ. I’m sure he’d love that.”

“Just you wait Clem! Soon we’ll have another little ghost running around.”

Hearing footsteps as he turned to leave, something suddenly occurred to Clementine, and she turned to face him once more. “Uh… can you actually  _ see  _ in that thing?”

Louis laughed at that.  _ “See?  _ Who needs to  _ see?  _ I know this school like the back of my hand…” Just as he said that, he turned to slam face first into the wall right next to the door, stumbling back, but managing to avoid falling over. He coughed lightly as he shuffled slightly to the right, now facing the door properly. “See? I  _ knew  _ there was a wall there!”

With that, he left the greenhouse, hand scrabbling slightly for the door handle, and Clementine was alone with her thoughts once more.

Sighing, Clementine picked up her shears, and got back to work on the plant in front of her, even as she shook her head lightly as Louis’s antics.  _ ‘There may be lots of work to do, but at least you can always count on Louis to shake things up. Never a dull moment with him around…’ _

Faintly, she heard a  _ crash  _ from somewhere outside, and she sighed deeply as several voices started to yell, Aasim clearly leading the outcry. As she left to go deal with whatever accident Louis had caused with his blind stumbling, she reflected on the accuracy of her thought. 

_ ‘Yep… never a dull moment…’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, interact with me, and see extra content related to my writing, such as deleted scenes!


	30. October 30th: Evening Drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine enjoys an evening drive with her girlfriend Brody...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Was feeling a bit adventurous today, so I decided to go with a more unorthodox pairing. Extremely short, the shortest of them all really, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!
> 
> 2\. We're in the home stretch now, just one more day to go after this!

Clementine held her arm out the window of the car, giggling slightly at the resistance of the wind, the slight chill that sent shivers through her nerves.

It didn’t bother her. Rather, it energized her, helping her to enjoy the moment as she cruised down the back roads with her girlfriend Brody in the driver's seat. It was rare for them to be able to spend time together alone like this, and Clementine was relishing every moment.

It had been a spur-of-the-moment thing to go driving like this, but they hardly regretted it. Brody always talked about going on a road trip together, and seeing all the world had to offer. That dream was a long way off from being a reality, but it was still nice for Clementine to close her eyes and, for just a moment, pretend they were driving around the French countryside, seeing the sights.

It was certainly a pleasant evening for a drive. There was a slight chill in the air, a welcome change after months of intense Georgia heat. Leaves, once orange and yellow but now quickly turning to brown, rustled against the windows as they fluttered through the air.

The sun was low on the horizon, and Clementine knew they’d have to head back soon, but for now, she simply chose to enjoy this time alone, in companionable silence.

They’d spoken a few times, but they didn’t really need to to understand their feelings for each other. Clementine knew Brody loved her, and Brody was well aware of how Clementine felt from how often and how relentlessly she expressed her affection. Besides, Brody liked being able to concentrate on the road. Driving had always made her nervous, despite her dreams of travelling the world.

It wasn’t a problem though. Clementine would happily drive them back when it got darker. There was a lot she would do for the redhead, the least of which was trading places when she got nervous.

_‘One day.’_ Clementine promised herself. _‘One day we’ll get out of here, and I’ll take her wherever she wants to go.’_

For now though, Clementine just leant back, enjoying their drive alone through the old country roads...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, interact with me, and see extra content related to my writing, such as deleted scenes!


	31. October 31st: Happy Halloween!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clementine and Co. hold their very own Halloween party at the school, as she reflects on the past and the future...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Here we go! The final prompt! It's been a long ride, and I'm grateful to everyone who chose to read these little stories of mine. I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read these mini-fics. To know that even one person had read my writing, and enjoyed it... it's one of the greatest gifts I've ever received in this life, and I just want to make sure you guys know how much all this means to me. Every bit of feedback, every kudos and every comment... it really makes my day whenever I see one. So thank you, for everything.
> 
> 2\. Now then, I hope you enjoy this last little story, as things finally come to a close...

At long last, the preparations were complete.

They’d been planning this party for weeks now, and finally Clementine could sit back and relax as everyone enjoyed themselves at their Halloween party.

It was the first real party they’d had since the night before the rescue, and they’d wanted to make it special. Every effort had been made, from covering the whole school in decorations, made mostly by AJ and Tenn, though Louis and Willy joined in as well, to breaking out the mood lighting once more, this time a fierce orange that gave the piano room an almost sinister glow. In addition, everyone had pitched in to make jack-o-lanterns, now scattered around the school with candles inside them to light up their sometimes-scary, sometimes-absurd features.

Louis had even made several scarecrows to put around the school, nearly giving Aasim a heart attack one morning when he’d left his room to see a mysterious figure lurking at the dark end of the hallway.

In terms of refreshment, Clementine had done all she could to make it special, engineering trade deals with nearby settlements for such treats as apple cider and sweet bread. It was far from the sugary feast you would expect on Halloween, but for a group of kids who hadn’t had anything like it in many years, it was more than enough to put a smile on everyone’s faces.

As she observed from the corner, watching as people mingled and laughed, playing silly little party games, Clementine couldn’t help but marvel at the normality of the situation.

After years of running for her life, fighting, lying, stealing and killing just to stay alive, Clementine never expected that she’d be able to do something so simple as  _ attend a Halloween party,  _ much less one that she had planned!

It was…  _ nice,  _ to see everyone so happy. AJ was playing some sort of card game with Ruby and Willy, Violet and Tenn were enjoying some apple cider at the refreshment table, and Louis… well, he was currently chasing Aasim with some sort of spider on a stick. She made a mental note to keep an eye on that. No way was she letting Louis anywhere near her with that thing.

Still, a part of her mind couldn’t help but drift back to her parents, to Lee, Kenny, and all the others she had lost along the way. It wasn’t fair that they weren’t here to enjoy this, to see the light at the end of the tunnel after so many years of pain…

Clementine squeezed her eyes shut, taking a deep breath as she steadied herself. Thinking about such things was pointless now. All she could do, was hope that she’d be able to keep her new friends safe, and that, wherever Lee and all the others were… she just hoped they’d be proud of her.

Scratch that, she  _ knew  _ Lee would be proud of her. Ever since he’d died, Clementine had tried to follow his example, to be the best person she could be...

Clementine hadn’t always done a very good job at that, falling into a very dark place at times, but she knew that Lee would understand. He always did. She dearly hoped she’d see him again one day, but for now, she had her own people to look out for, her own kid to protect. And she knew that she could be their protector, just like Lee was for her. He would live on through her, just like he always had.

And so, as Clementine looked out over the party, she knew that everything would be alright. Their struggles were far from over, that she understood, but for once, Clementine couldn’t help but feel that things were  _ finally  _ going to be okay.

With a smile on her lips and hope in her heart, Clementine decided to go join that card game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my [Tumblr](https://thecrusadercomrade.tumblr.com/) to keep up with progress on all of my fics, interact with me, and see extra content related to my writing, such as deleted scenes!


End file.
